All Are Lies
by Bunni Hunni Chan
Summary: Emmi thinks she's on her way to become Pokemon Master, but her journey changes direction when she encounters a hot-tempered, mysterious boy. When he reveals his criminal past, Emmi must make a fatal choice, but neither of them knows what lies ahead....
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: My first original story. :3 I have an excellent plot for this, so stay tuned! (I sound like a television commercial)

Chapter One

I started my pokemon journey on one of the chilliest days in spring.

After I said goodbye to my mother and the professor, the last familiar faces I would see in a while...I knew something was going to happen soon. Whether it would be good or bad, something was coming... I could feel it. But it didn't matter. I was prepared. Rain, sleet, snow, or hail, I planned on becoming Pokemon Master.

"Ready, Fushi?" I whispered to the pokeball at my waist, which contained a small bulbasaur. "We're going to become the best trainers ever!"

I wanted to release my pokemon to walk beside me – like I had heard a famous trainer had done with his Pikachu – but decided against it. Above me, restless skies threatened to rain down my excitement. I didn't care. Although I'd expected my journey to start in the early morning on a sunny day, my hopes for my dream would never be shattered.

I had been walking for a few minutes before I realized I was clueless as to where I was going. Mentally slapping myself, I pulled out the map and found my first gym.

"Pewter City..." That wasn't far away at all. Our house had practically been right next to the city. I glanced around to find a sign pointing me in the right direction. There was none. No signs, no people, no buildings...no pathway. How exactly was a trainer – or _anyone –_ supposed to find their way?

I sighed and began walking. Though I didn't know where I was headed, I was heading _somewhere _at least. Along the way, I noticed the darkening sky. Within a few minutes, light rain and a foggy cover surrounded me. Mixing in with the drizzle, various grass and water pokemon could be heard delighting in the shower. I grabbed my pokeball. The rain might have been falling- but my spirit wouldn't.

Just in time too. A figure up ahead was moving along the ground in the fog. I released my pokemon, preparing for my first battle. Fushi glanced up at me curiously.

"Aim a Tackle attack over there," I said, pointing ahead.

Fushi was probably just as confused as I was by the impending fog, but obeyed me anyways. I got a thrill out of watching it follow my command and dash into the blur up ahead. I couldn't see what was happening, but I definitely heard the impact of its skull against the body of the figure in front of me.

"Ow! What the hell?"

It was a male's voice. I quickly called back my pokemon and went ahead into the thick fog. After a few moments of searching, an older boy stood up, carrying what looked like a fainted pokemon in his arms. He rubbed his ribs angrily and glared at me. I wondered why he had been kneeling in the first place.

"What the hell was that for?"

I kept my voice lowered. "Sorry about that. I'm kinda new and thought you were a pokemon..."

"You have no damn excuse! Don't you have a Pokedex?" He huffed. "I swear..."

I took a closer look at the pokemon in his arms. Although the fog was too muggy for complete clarity, I saw that it was an extremely furry – and cute – red puppy pokemon. It looked as though it were having trouble breathing. A few battle scars lined its scruffy face.

"Hey, are you listening?"

"What's wrong with it?" I asked quietly.

"What?"

"Your pokemon..." I reached forward to touch it but he moved aside.

"What's it to you?" He stepped forward as if to hit me. I could now clearly see the anger and frustration in his dark eyes, as well as the fiery red hair that lined his forehead. A dark red hoody covered the majority of his head and most of his face. When he saw me clearly, his eyes widened. "You're a girl."

"Yep," I muttered. Somehow that annoyed me. Why was it that many people always assumed boys to be the icon of pokemon trainers? Girls weren't supposed to be condemned to just pokemon contests.

It was quiet for a while. In the few moments of silence, the drizzle strengthened to a light shower. I kept my hand on my pokeball in case this person tried anything against me, though he didn't seem dangerous at all.

"Anyways."

"Do you know the direction to Pewter City?" I pulled out my map, but it was already too soggy to read. "It's my first gym."

"Back that way. Just keep going straight," he mumbled, glancing behind him. I stared at the pokemon in his arms. Its breathing was ragged and choked. I thought for certain it might die soon. Yet somehow it looked familiar. He rolled his eyes. "What are _you _looking at?"

"Nothing. It's just...your pokem-"

"Like I said before, what's it to you?"

He pushed past me in a rush and pattered off into the distance. His soggy footsteps vanished beneath the rain. And yet I felt content.

"Off again, Fushi," I whispered to my pokeball. I wouldn't let a grumpy trainer ruin the day for me. After all, I was just starting out. But oddly, right after meeting him something continued to tug at the back of my mind- I had the feeling we would meet up again.

OoOoOoOoOo

By evening, I had finally arrived in Pewter City. It was much smaller than I had expected, having heard the word _city _and all. It was more like a small town with a rural setting mixed in. The gym didn't look too impressive either; it had been made completely out of stone and rigid rock. I didn't see any marble, or any kind of material to suggest that it had been made by human hands. A painted wooden sign just above the doorway had the word 'Open' scratched away by what looked like pokemon claws.

I entered the gym calmly. After what I had read about this gym leader – Brock was his name, I remembered – I knew that he used Rock types, most of which were also dual Ground types. My bulbasaur would knock his pokemon into the dust, or at least I hoped. After what I had read about him and saw about him on the news, along with the famous trainer Ash Ketchum, he was much more powerful than he had been about eight years ago. He was twenty five years old now and had to breed new Rock pokemon so that his stronger pokemon wouldn't obliterate the new trainers.

I saw him immediately when I came to the arena border. I'd heard that he used to impress trainers by making the rocky floor come out of the ground on their arrival, but he had grown tired of it. (After years of weak trainer after weak trainer battling you, you would be bored too.)

A girl older than me was already standing in the middle of the arena, holding something like a large pinkish white balloon. Brock looked bored on the other side of the arena.

"You should know better than to use Normal-type attacks against Rock types."

"But Double Slap _always _worked on the other pokemon!" she cried.

"If you slap a rock with your bare hands, what will be hurt- you or the rock?"

She remained silent.

"Exactly."

The girl turned angrily and stomped out of the arena, shoving past me. I was annoyed at the way everyone was doing that to me. "I'll come back," she muttered indignantly under her breath,"and then you'll see how powerful my jigglypuff is..."

Suddenly my confidence left. If even an _older_ trainer with a _rare _pokemon couldn't beat Brock, how could I? Not only that, but I could only rely on my bulbasaur since I couldn't find any other pokemon in the fog.

"So I guess you want to battle me too," he said to me tiredly. He seated himself in a chair on his side of the arena and rested his chin on his palm. His yawn permeated what was left of my confidence. I saw that he didn't even bother to heal his pokemon. "This will be a three on three battle. I'm also a referee. Let the battle beg-"

"Wait!" I fingered the pokeball at my waist.

"What?"

"I only have...one pokemon."

"Get out." I was astonished at the blatant remark. "Go get some more pokemon."

"But...the fog..."

"I know a friend," he muttered, "who managed to get pokemon to team up with him without even _catching_ them. You have _no excuse_."

I was getting tired of people telling me that. First my mother and now these random people.

"I want to battle."

"Fine, whatever." I was surprised at how easily he gave in. "But I'll battle you without going easy. Just start."

"Fushi!"

I sent out my bulbasaur, a little flustered. I would have to give this bored gym leader a battle he would never forget. Although this wasn't a fairy tale world...I was sure I would be able to pull it off. Fushi seemed uncomfortable being in such a dusty, closed-in area without sunlight. Brock tossed an oddly-colored foreign pokeball. A strange rounded pokemon appeared, its entire body covered in a metal armor. Beady dark eyes stared out from a light red interior. I was astonished- I had never seen this pokemon before. Was it even a Rock type?

"I'll prove to you why you need more than one pokemon type." He sighed. "Forretress, Take Down."

The armor pokemon rushed towards me. I knew that Fushi wouldn't survive a single hit by it. Going by the instinct that Forretress must be a Rock type, I used the only grass move my bulbasaur knew. "Vine Whip!"

Fushi lashed out an attack with its vines against the rushing pokemon. Yet no matter how many times it hit, or how hard the vines lashed out, Forretress's metal armor was a strong shield. Fushi was hit dead on by the Take Down attack, and I moved out of the way as it was sent flying into the wall behind me. I had never heard such a bone crushing sound before.

"Battle over."

I had lost within the first turn of the battle. But there was something more important to attend to- I ran over to my pokemon, which was covered in bruises from the deformed rock wall. It might have survived if the wall had been sleeker. I realized then that that had been the reason for the gym's design.

I called my pokemon back. My first pokemon battle...and I'd lost immediately.

Brock sighed. "It was a Steel and Bug type. Grass type moves are weak against Steel types and Bug types, so when you put them both together... Now do you understand?"

I nodded glumly. I didn't know much about Steel types, considering there were almost none in Kanto. In fact, I didn't really know anything about pokemon outside of Kanto. I had let down my bulbasaur already. Why should it trust me anymore after this battle?

"Sorry, Fushi," I whispered to my pokeball. "You don't have to battle again if you don't want to."

"Hey," Brock called. I looked up. "Why didn't you use your Pokedex?"

I slapped myself mentally. Idiot. "Guess I forgot." But it wouldn't have helped. I didn't know anything about Steel type pokemon.

Brock read my mind. "Go get yourself a Fire type and come back. I'll be waiting." He lowered his voice. "...Bored as usual."

I nodded and left the gym quietly, ashamed at my weakness.

OoOoOoOoOo

At the Pokemon Center, I took a seat near the window to stare out into the evening. It was mocking me. Everything was mocking me. Even the pokemon were mocking me. How could a pokemon trainer lose on the first turn of a battle? It was stupid. I had believed in my confidence, believed that I would be able to go far...but my confidence was the reason I had lost. Maybe if I had believed I was weak, unable to even muster a single move, I might have seen myself for who I truly was – a weakling – and defeated Forretress.

I couldn't show my face to the gym anymore, at least not until I became infinitely stronger. But there weren't any Fire pokemon near the area. The closest place that contained them was miles away, too far to even think of going. And not only that, but they were usually in a cave that had to be lit by Electric pokemon, which I also didn't have. There was no way I could defeat Brock. I was useless.

I leaned my face against the cool glass, forcing my tears stay inside. Maybe I was destined to become something other than a trainer.

"Umm."

Something tugged at my shirt. I looked down and saw the face of a little girl staring up at me. Her curious dark blue eyes reminded me of myself when I had been younger. "Umm..."

"What is it?"

"You wanna play?" She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a wrinkled paper with an odd drawing. "Umm...I know Hangman and Tic-Tac-Toe..."

"No thanks."

"But..."

I smiled and patted her black hair. "Sorry. I'm not really in the mood."

"Oh..."

She ran to another person. I smiled and turned back to the window. Come to think of it, I had always dreamed of being a trainer, even as a little girl. Contests had never been as appealing to me. Yet even through all the hard times I'd gone through, I had retained my dream. I'd never given up. Why should I give up now just because I happened to lose one measly battle? And not only that, but why should I give up even if I lost a _million_ battles? Each loss of a battle is a step to getting stronger, whether I felt it or not. And I had even learned something- Steel types are weak against Fire types. And since Bug types are also weak against Fire types, a Fire pokemon would completely destroy Forretress!

My eyes widened at the realization. I actually had a chance.

"Your pokemon is completely healed."

I turned around to see Nurse Joy holding a relaxed bulbasaur, skin looking healthier than I'd ever seen it. Fushi smiled at me gratefully, and somehow all my worries were shattered right there.

"Thanks." I took my pokemon and held it to my chest. I never wanted it to lose again. Even if I ever lost a battle, I wanted another pokemon to lose in its place. Fushi didn't deserve to lose another battle.

"He sure is a kind pokemon," Nurse Joy said, smiling. "Even when I was giving him a shot, he remained completely still. He seemed more worried about my safety with the needle rather than himself!" She patted his head. "You're lucky to have such a kind pokemon as your starter. Be good to him."

I nodded and nuzzled against his cheek. "I never want him to lose again."

"Bulbaaaa!"

"And one last thing," she added. "He doesn't like pokeballs. I'd suggest you let him roam free."

My eyes widened.

oOoOoOoOo

I left the Pokemon Center determined to catch another pokemon. I would have to return there before nightfall, but I had confidence in bulbasaur. We would definitely find another pokemon. Deep inside, I had a feeling we would find more than what we were looking for. Fushi walked happily beside me. I could feel his happiness- he didn't have to communicate it. I thought it was kind of strange how I could sense what he was feeling, but...oh well. Pokemon were mysterious creatures.

The forest we now walked through had been cleared of rain. All that remained were patches of soaked grass where water from the fog had condensed. Fushi delighted in this and rolled around in the undergrowth. I laughed at his playfulness.

"Do you want to train?" I asked him, taking a seat on a stump. Fushi nodded excitedly and bounced to his feet. I looked around for something to hit. I'd seen examples of training on television, especially by the famous Ash Ketchum. He used Frisbees and his pokemon took aim at them. Well...I didn't have Frisbees, but I did have rocks. I snatched a rock from the ground and threw it in the air. "Vine Whip!"

Fushi shot his vines to the rock and knocked it aside. I heard it land far away in the distance. I threw a few more rocks and the same thing happened. However, I didn't feel like we were getting anywhere. Maybe I needed to train a particular aspect. When we battled, our main downfall was strength. If his Vine Whip had been powerful, it would have knocked Forretress to the side. Maybe I could...

I looked around for the strongest tree I could find. When I found one, I pointed Fushi towards it. "Vine Whip that tree until you put a gigantic mark in it!" I paused. "But stop if you get too tired." I had heard of trainers who'd over-worked their pokemon to the point of hatred. When they weren't looking, their pokemon either ran off or beat the crap out of them.

Fushi lashed out against the bark of the tree. At first I thought we were getting somewhere, considering the amount of bark that was flying off. When all the bark was destroyed, however, it was like a never ending battle. Fushi whipped and whipped, but the white part of the tree stayed intact. After a few minutes of constant whipping, I could see the anger and frustration in his eyes. His lashes got stronger, but the tree remained intact. He pushed himself to his limits of strength, but it was useless. And suddenly, I was getting angry. I was angry that no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't strong enough. Now I was frustrated. I wanted to hit the tree as well. I could feel the anger burning beneath my skin. The same determination bulbasaur had was writhing beneath me as well.

I ran over to the tree and slapped it as hard as I could. My hand came back red, but the tree was unharmed. I hit it harder. Nothing happened. Fushi became angrier. I became angrier.

"Stupid freaking tree!" I kicked it this time, but only I was damaged. I was furious now, too furious to think. I walked away from the tree to cool off, motioning for bulbasaur to do the same. My heart was beating fast, and I was sure Fushi's was as well. He had tried so hard...and yet couldn't even put a scratch in it. It was sickening.

Swimming against my anger, I patted Fushi. "You did your best."

"...Saur..."

I reached down to pat him again, but footsteps in the area startled me. A familiar face came pushing out through the trees only seconds later. I knew exactly who it was when I noticed the fiery red hair and dark eyes. He was huffing angrily at the sight of me, his eyes widening at the tree we had stripped clean. His pokemon wasn't in his arms anymore, but I hoped it was okay. After all, it _had_ been sick.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Training..."

"Well keep it down. Some people are heading to bed now."

I glanced up at the evening sky to destroy his statement. "What, like...three?"

His eyes narrowed. "You think you're funny, don't you?"

I didn't answer the question. If starting an argument was his specialty, then ending it would be mine. I smiled politely, against my want. Beside me, Fushi grumbled angrily against my leg.

"Is your pokemon doing okay?"

He was thrown off guard by the question. "...What?"

"The one in your arms before."

He turned his head away. I suddenly noticed how perfect his fiery hair looked underneath an equally fiery sun. "Yeah..."

"What happened to it?"

"Why the hell do you need to know?" His voice cracked. I was astonished at how rude he was. Hadn't his mother taught him manners as a child? He looked away from me again, almost as if pondering something; I began to wonder what had actually happened.

"I was just curious," I said quietly.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Stupidity killed the cat. Curiosity was framed."

For just the hint of a second, I saw something like a smile at the corners of his mouth. It disappeared quickly.

"That's stupid."

I was still curious about his pokemon. I don't know why I was so interested. Maybe Fushi had been the one all along who was interested- after all, I was able to somehow know what he was feeling at unusual times. But if Fushi wanted to know, I would gladly find out. I glanced down at my pokemon curiously.

"What pokemon was it?"

"Jeez, are you still trying to find out?" To my surprise, he unclipped a pokeball from his belt. "Take a look, but you better make it quick. I have to go right now.."

I noted that his pokeball had black paint over the top, but I couldn't read what it said. A small red puppy flashed into view. It looked healthy, but...it didn't seem happy. I had seen this pokemon before, but couldn't remember its name. Black stripes along its back, scruffy white fur characterizing the top of its head and its tail... I suddenly remembered what Brock had told me and pulled out my Pokedex.

"It's a growlithe," he told me before I could press the button. "Fire type, lives in grassy areas, has _one_ _kick ass_ evolution."

"Fire!" I exclaimed happily. At his confused silence, I explained. "I've been looking for a Fire pokemon."

"So now you see one. Congratulations," he answered blankly. He looked up at the sky, that same pondering look that I'd seen before now on his face. The sky was changing to a dark velvet blue, signaling the coming of night fall. He seemed nervous by this, as did his growlithe. Clenching his teeth, he kicked against the ground. "Shit."

I was a little disturbed by his language, but didn't bother correcting him. "What's wrong?"

He seemed startled by my voice, like he'd forgotten I had been standing there. "Why do you ask so many questions?" He called his growlithe back and looked around quickly. "I have to go. I _really_ don't have much time now."

Knowing it was pointless to question him further, I went back to my original want. "Well before you go, could you tell me where to find a Fire pokemon?"

He seemed like he was panicking now, though I didn't know why. I noticed that it had been later than I'd thought. The sky was changing rapidly now, like it usually does around six or seven in the evening. He seemed to be looking for something, but as time passed and he failed to find it, I knew something was wrong.

Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for. Before I could question him further, he ran off in that direction. I noticed that something had fallen from him to the ground. Upon closer inspection, my eyes widened. It was his pokeball; the one with the black markings. Along with my excitement that I'd finally gotten a Fire pokemon, I was more afraid that I would be murdered for my stalling him and making him accidentally drop his pokeball.

"Heeey!" I shouted into the distance. "You dropped your pokeball!"

Silence.

I walked over to the fallen orb and collected it. It would be better to keep it than to let the wild pokemon devour it, especially since I would probably see him again.

Oh, how right I was.

OoOoOoOoO

Hope you liked it so far. I have an awesome plot coming up. x3 And no, not the whole overused, "Little kid saves the entire world" cliche.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Back at the Pokemon Center, I was given a small room to stay in for the night. I let Fushi sleep by my feet underneath a table I used to examine the growlithe pokeball. What I'd thought to have been black paint before was actually an engraving dyed with dark liquid. I held the pokeball clear under the lamp light. A number and letter combination had been written- 1 P P 4. I thought it was a considerably odd name. It _could_ have been a password.

The darkened sky outside warned me that I needed my rest- after all, I was going to battle Brock again tomorrow, whether I was prepared or not. I wondered if I would be able to use growlithe...but the chances of a different trainer's pokemon obeying _my_ commands (of all people) would be a million to one. Not only that, but I was sure that if the growlithe didn't bite my head off, _he_ sure would. What was his name, anyways?

I put away the pokeball and trudged to the bathroom. Faced with a mirror, I stared into my own eyes- and was completely astonished by what I saw. I hadn't washed up in an actual bathroom in a long time, being forced to do so in a lake, so I had never taken the time to really see myself. Living with a poor family in a shack the _size _of a bathroom was no help either. My long bangs and lashes did well to cover my eyes, and my dark hair was wrapped in a large bun at the top of my head with two chopsticks poking through. I pulled the chopsticks out to see what would happen. I was surprised when silky hair fell to my back. Why hadn't my mother let me wear my hair down? It looked prettier this way.

I sighed and started the water for a quick shower. As I bathed, I wondered why my mother did the things she did, especially since there was usually no reason for it.

OoOoOoOoO

The next morning, I left the Pokemon Center determined to catch another pokemon. I think the beautiful day had somewhat to do with it. After all, it had been raining off-and-on for three days and nights beforehand. Fushi grumbled tiredly beside me. He could barely catch up with me as I walked. After a while I picked him up and carried him in my arms, but it didn't seem to be helping.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "If you're tired, then sleep."

"Bulb...a..." He hiccuped and leapt out of my arms, stumbling when he hit the ground. When he poked his nose at a flower and began chewing on it, I knew exactly what was wrong. I had forgotten to feed my pokemon.

"Oh, I'm sorry Fushi."

I picked him up again and glanced around for a store that sold pokemon food. I didn't see any food stores, but there seemed to be many that specialized in selling rocks and minerals, including a particularly weird store that sold common rocks for more than ten dollars each. I suddenly remembered that Brock was asked about his great cooking on an interview, especially on his pokemon food. Without thinking, I rushed to the gym.

OoOoOoOoO

When I entered the gym this time, there was another trainer already battling Brock just like before. He was using what looked like a green turtle pokemon similar to bulbasaur, except for its mouth was shaped more like a beak. A leafy twig jutted from its head. I had never seen that particular pokemon in the Kanto region before, so the trainer must have been a foreigner.

"Tackle!" the trainer commanded.

The turtle pokemon ran across the arena rather humorously on its tiny stubs for legs. I was impressed by its determination. Before it could even go near Onix, the rock snake lashed out with its tail, smashing a bruise against the little pokemon's poor face that sent it flying into one of the arena walls. I heard the same bone crushing sound I'd heard when my bulbasaur had crashed. The trainer ran over to his pokemon immediately, nearly falling himself.

"Turtwig! Are you okay?"

"...Wig..."

"What's with people using Normal-type moves against Rock types..." Brock muttered under his breath, shaking his head at the trainer's weakness. When he noticed my arrival, he sighed. I probably looked weaker than ever, standing in the doorway with my hungry pokemon in my arms. Come to think of it, I was sort of hungry too. "Are you challenging me again?"

"Not exactly..." I moved out of the way as the trainer passed, wanting to avoid being shoved out of the way for the third time. "My pokemon is hungry and..."

"You want me to feed it." I was afraid he would say no, having experienced his attitude before. I was startled when he nodded. "I have some pokemon food in the back. Wait here."

He went to one of the back sides of the gym and vanished within the darkness. Onix remained in the center of the arena, still looking healthy from the last battle. Every once in a while it would throw its tail into the floor, and I'd question if I were prepared to battle it. A few minutes passed until Brock came back out with a bowl of what looked like brown pokemon food. He crossed the arena and set the bowl near my feet. When I sat Fushi down, he raced to the food and gulped it hungrily, not even bothering to chew. His sudden happiness went into me, and I was thankful.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I can't ignore a hungry pokemon."

But this food wouldn't last forever, I realized. "Where can I get more pokemon food in this town?"

"I'm the one who makes the food," he said with a proud grin. "That's how I make most of my income."

"How much?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but paused. Then he uttered, "Twenty dollars a bag."

"Tw...Twenty?" I was astonished. "But that's ridiculous! No wonder you're rich..."

"I'll make you a deal. If you defeat me in a battle _right now_, I'll give you five bags...for free."

"Deal!" I exclaimed happily, not even bothering to think about my decision. The looming tempt of endless – and free – pokemon food must have blinded me to the minuscule chance I had of actually _winning. _As Brock headed to his side of the arena to prepare, I suddenly began to realize how low my chances were. For one, I only had two pokemon, and there was no sure answer that he would even _use_ Forretress this time. Not only that, but the growlithe wasn't even _my_ pokemon! Fushi looked up at me to reassure me that we could win. Onix demonstrated its power with a roar that shook the entire gym.

"This will be a one on one battle," Brock said. "Let the battle be-"

"Wait!" I shouted suddenly.

"What?"

Was I really about to do this? If I risked using growlithe, I risked losing the entire battle. For all I knew it could still be at a beginner level. But somehow...I didn't think so. Then came the haunt of using someone else's pokemon. Either I would win with growlithe and receive a stern yelling or growlithe would lose and I'd be murdered. I paused for a moment to think about my decision.

"I have...two pokemon this time."

"Oh really? This will be a two on two battle then." The hope in his eyes encouraged me to battle harder than before. "Let the battle begin!"

"Fushi, go!" I wasted no time planning or thinking. I would go for it immediately. Planning and thinking would lead to wasting time, and wasting time would lead to-

"Bind!"

Onix roared a terrifying battle cry and grabbed an unaware Fushi with its tail, curling him tightly between sharp edges of uneven rock. Fushi struggled to break free, but each movement seemed a hopeless struggle. Every wrong shift led to rounded bruises that I would discover only after the fight had ended.

"Vine Whip!" I commanded, but Onix had its tail against the bulb of my pokemon to prevent the vines from escaping. The seconds passed by like hours and yet I was helpless to save my poor pokemon.

"Throw it down," Brock commanded. I knew it was the end. Onix released the bind, grabbing my bulbasaur with the end of its tail and forcefully tossing him to the ground. I closed my eyes and covered both ears so I wouldn't hear the impact this time, although I could feel it. It would have been too much to bear otherwise.

When the dust cleared, Fushi was lying on the ground immobilized. Knowing that he would be too tired to care, I recalled my bulbasaur to prevent further injury. He had lost again, even after I hadn't wanted him to. What was I doing wrong? I had trained the day before, I had strengthened its Vine Whip. What else did I need to do to win? So far my efforts had been worthless.

"My only hope..." I said quietly as I grabbed Growlithe's pokeball, "...is you."

I thought for sure that I'd seen and felt the pokeball shake in response, but it must have been my imagination. I released the pokemon from its pokeball, afraid of what would happen. Brock's eyes widened at the puppy's appearance. Growlithe growled furiously when it first appeared, tightening up its lengthyclaws and making the fiery hairs on its back stand up. I had never seen a growl such as that one in my life. Every vein in the pokemon's body seemed to be bloody furious – literally. It didn't even sound like a growl. It was like some horrible monster was raging in its tiny body, snarling and cackling, possessing even. I was suddenly afraid. Growlithe looked back at me for approval but stopped snarling when it realized I wasn't the same red headed boy it had come to know.

"Where did you get a growlithe?" Brock asked. "They don't live anywhere_ near_ this area."

"I just happened to find it luckily," I said, not knowing whether to run for my life or stay and battle. I was relieved when the small pokemon focused on Onix more than me.

"Haha. Unfortunately you're battling the wrong type of pokemon," he said. "Onix, Bind!"

I didn't know most of Growlithe's moves. I'd heard of a few on a television program but they were mostly for its higher levels. I watched as the rock snake closed in on my stolen pokemon, and I was sure we would lose. I think growlithe was one of the smarter pokemon. Not waiting for my command, it dashed forward suddenly, its sharp claws practically tearing the ground apart on each impact. A snarl of even greater intensity writhed from its mouth. To my surprise, it ran up the length of Onix's body, its own body bursting into white hot flames that I could feel even from my place on the field. With amazing power it leapt into the air from the neck of the snake, nearly jumping four times its own height, and slammed down into Onix's face, the searing body fire gushing into every open hole, including the eyes – critical hit.

"What the..." Brock looked over at me, unable to comprehend what just happened. Actually, I couldn't either. But I was happy about it.

"Roaaaawwweerrr!" Onix slammed its head into the ground to destroy the flames and the growlithe at the same time. Growlithe leapt from its head just as it impacted with the ground. The heavy rock pokemon raised up, furious now. The dust that fell from its nearly-shattered head clouded the arena.

"Lets try this then... Tackle!"

Onix leapt towards Growlithe in a rage. One slam from the heavy rock snake would lead to an immediate victory for my opponent. Growlithe remained completely still. I was afraid that Onix would impact, considering how the puppy hadn't moved at all. I was amazed when Growlithe dodged at the last second, watching in mock as Onix tackled the wall instead. I held onto the ground for dear life as the gym shook almost completely off its foundation.

"That growlithe..." Brock stared at me curiously.

Knowing he would get suspicious if I didn't give a command, I shouted, "Flamethrower!"

I didn't expect anything to happen, but Growlithe seemed to be completely absorbed in the battle, not even caring if its trainer hadn't been the one to command it. A jet of flames from its mouth quickly enveloped Onix just as it was trying to stand up again. Being a rock type, I didn't expect the horrified cry I heard only moments later. In one last attempt at defeating the smaller pokemon, Onix opened its mouth wide; I saw a bright light forming just behind its teeth.

"No, Onix! You can't use that move in this gym!"

Onix ignored the command. Without warning, something like a beam of pure energy was released from its mouth. Growlithe was hit in its face by the attack and an explosion sent it sliding across the rough field, landing against the wall on Brock's side. I thought it was ironic how our pokemon were now on separate sides of the arena. Brock slapped a hand to his head angrily and recalled his pokemon. I questioned him.

"We used an illegal move in this low-level gym..." he muttered. "You're not allowed to use a move in low-level gyms that's stronger than a damage of eighty..."

Behind him, Growlithe hissed at its pain against the wall. Its feet had been thrown over its head during the attack, but it was still able to move. I noticed that it was chewing on something.

"Thanks Growlithe!" I yelled to it, recalling the weak pokemon. I looked up at the frustrated gym leader. "Does that mean I win?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. I wanted to keep battling. Most fun I've had in a while."

After he confirmed my win, the rest of his words faded from my ears. "I finally won!" I exclaimed. I did a victory dance, too excited to sit still.

Brock crossed the arena and handed me my first gym badge. I held it up to the light. The rock was surprisingly luminescent. My win had been worth it, especially with all the hard work. The only problem was that Growlithe had been the one winning. It wasn't even my pokemon. It was saddening that after all that training Fushi didn't seem to be going up any levels, but I remembered that a pokemon has to usually go up more than a few levels to learn a new move. Fushi would get stronger. I just knew it.

"Don't forget this."

Brock slid a backpack off his shoulders and pulled out several bags of pokemon food. I had completely forgotten about that. I took the food gratefully and nodded him my thanks. I felt for certain that he had something else to say to me, but I rushed out of the gym excitedly anyways.

OoOoOoOoO

What I didn't expect when I arrived at the Pokemon Center was a familiar red head to be leaning against the front of the building, his face red from anger. On a day as hot as this, his hoody was still covering the majority of his face. I watched as his expression changed from angry to furious when he noticed me. The rage in his eyes propelled me slowly backwards. Before I could make a quick getaway, he slid swiftly behind me. I turned to face him.

"Where the hell is my pokemon?" he hissed, grabbing my shoulders with his hands. I wasn't comfortable with the sudden contact. He reached over to my neck as if to strangle me, but then he seemed to remember something. He lowered his hands. "Give me back my growlithe."

"I called after you while you left, but you didn't hear me," I said angrily. I was annoyed at his violence.

"Then why the hell didn't you follow me?" He paused. "You know what, never mind. Just give me my damn pokemon back. Do you know what the hell you've done?"

"Here..." I mumbled, wondering if it was a rhetorical question. I didn't want him to see his injured growlithe, so I hesitated. He snatched the pokeball out of my hands and immediately released his pokemon. A worn-out growlithe appeared, its body bruised badly from the slam it had taken against the gym floor. I noticed patches on its fur where dust and dirt had collected into a few wounds. Its outer teeth were slabbed with a bit of blood from its tongue, which had a few holes in it. It looked as if it had bitten down on its tongue sharply.

The boy bit down angrily. He glared at me so sharply I felt as though I would melt. "What the hell have you done to my pokemon!" He grabbed Growlithe by the nape of its neck and flipped it over to check its stomach. I felt sorry for the poor abused pokemon. If the trainer had felt sympathy for it, he sure didn't show it. "And what the hell is this! She's filthy!" I assumed he was referring to his growlithe.

"I...I'm sorry." I honestly didn't know what to say. "I-"

"You what?" he spat. "You used my pokemon in a battle didn't you?"

I nodded silently. My throat felt as though it were welling up with heated blood.

"You dirty..." He sighed. And then to my amazement, he asked, "...Did you win?"

I nodded again, taken aback. "I was battling Brock... Growlithe defeated his Onix..." I thought of something to say to lessen his anger. "Your pokemon is really powerful! It almost destroyed Onix... Brock was surprised."

The trainer nodded in agreement, a smile forming in the corners of his mouth. His anger was still present though. "I thought so. This girl is a real fighter. One of my better fighters."

"Fighters?"

He looked up at me. "Yeah. Fighters. Don't ask about it."

"She fought without me giving commands..." I mumbled. "How did you do that?"

"Plenty of training. So much that a little girl like you would die trying to duplicate it."

For a moment, I wondered if he ever said anything that wasn't an attempt to start an argument. I noticed how frightened his growlithe seemed whenever she was around him. Regular stolen pokemon would curl against their trainers if they returned, but this pokemon...she seemed as if she didn't even want to be near him. I wondered what was really going on but knew it wasn't the right time to question it.

An earlier question came back to me. "Um...what's your name, anyways?"

He glared at me again. "What's it to you?"

"My name's Emelia," I said, ignoring his tyrant-like behavior. "You can just call me Emmi."

"Well I _won't_ just call you Emmi," he mocked. Then, in a quieter tone, he muttered, "Name's Michael. Just call me Mike if you want. But I prefer Michael."

I smiled, knowing we were finally getting somewhere. "Hi then, Michael. Sorry for using your pokemon like that."

For the slightest moment I thought he would begin to say something nice, but then he seemed to remember something. His face tightened angrily and he recalled his growlithe.

"I don't forgive you. Your stupid act did something horrible."

"What happened?"

"And stop asking so many damn questions!"

I was the one who glared this time. "Well what do you expect? It's like a random person starting to talk about some horrible creature with some name they can't reveal, and this same person starts shouting angrily at people who ask questions about it, as if people wouldn't be curious to know!"

"Well maybe if people would shut up asking questions about things they shouldn't know, then they'd keep their noses in their own fuc- damn businesses!"

I sucked in my breath to retain a sigh. I was wasting time trying to talk with this guy. "Okay. Fine. You win." I glanced at the Pokemon Center behind him. "I understand you don't accept my apology, and I understand your anger, so if you would excuse me..."

I started to walk past him, completely flustered. In fact, the most flustered I'd been in my life. His hand suddenly grabbing my arm stopped me. I turned around to smack it away, but his face had gone cold.

"People are after me."

My eyes widened. "Who?"

"After what happened last night..." His breath hitched. "So now they're after me. I can't explain everything but...that's what's happening."

I had never seen someone with a face as cold and dead as his before. He looked like a standing, living, breathing ghost, having been pulled out of his world and placed in such a realistic place that even his dead life had been strained out of him. Suddenly I was very curious.

"So if they find you..." I started. I cut off the sentence at his alarm. "What will you do now?"

"Run away. I have to get out of this city. No. I have to get out of this entire _region. _Otherwise..."

I didn't question him about it anymore. I knew exactly how the sentence ended. I was shy about asking this question, especially after having experienced his anger issues beforehand – and I hoped terribly that he wouldn't use them again like he had in the past – but I felt I needed to do something about this situation. I thought about Fushi, and how he would take it if Michael accepted the offer. I hoped those two would get along, if so.

"Well then... I have to travel anyways, so..." I looked away, unable to get the rest out immediately. "I mean, I _guess_ you could... I dunno. Come along with us if you want?"

He looked at me as though I were out of my mind. I didn't doubt I was.

"No way in hell."

Ouch.

"Well don't stop to at least think about it," I muttered sarcastically. "Who knows? Maybe if you travel with us, they won't find you. They'll see that you're with a rookie trainer and think it's someone else..."

"Why the hell do you want to help me?"

I was surprised at the sudden question. Come to think of it, I had never really thought of it myself. I stood there quietly as I tried to think of a good answer, but I failed utterly. Maybe I felt sorry for the guy. I really just wanted to be friends with him, but he seemed more hostile towards me than before.

"I don't know."

"Wow. That's...that's... That's the most stupid reason ever." He said it as if he were serious, but I could see humor behind his eyes. It almost looked as though he were going to laugh, which would have probably made me stumble backwards the same way I would if my bulbasaur started randomly sputtering Psychic type moves. "That's _really_ really stupid."

"Just think about it at least," I muttered. I was still hurt a little by the insults he kept throwing, but I was beginning to learn it was part of his personality, no matter how dreary. "See you then. I'll be leaving the city after my pokemon are healed, so..."

I nudged my arm out of his grip, having forgotten about it through the conversation, and headed for the Pokemon Center. As I was passing through the sliding doors, I thought I heard a vague, "See ya Emmi." I passed it off as my mind just being crazy. After all, there were thousands of people talking in this overcrowded city.

OoOoOoOoO

"Your poor bulbasaur seems to have taken a bit of damage," Nurse Joy told me as she handed me my pokemon over the counter. It had a large bandage wrapped around the bulk of its forehead. "We were able to heal most of the wounds with Potions, but this one was very bad. We actually had to sweep into our under-the-counter medicine, and it still seems a bit...bad."

I took my Fushi into my arms, hugging him tightly. If I had felt horrible the day before, I felt three times as bad now. "What should I do?"

"Wash the wound every day until the red goes away," she replied. "Don't let your pokemon battle until the entire wound has left."

"But this is my only pokemon!" I cried. A groan from Fushi persuaded me that Nurse Joy had been right.

"I'm terribly sorry but this is for the best. Please don't make it battle."

"How long do you think it'll be until the wound leaves?" I adored my pokemon, of course, but I couldn't be a trainer without battling. I don't think I could survive a single day without at least one battle against a wild pokemon or trainer.

"I'd say about two weeks."

"Two...weeks..." I groaned this time. Fushi groaned with me. "Well thanks anyways..."

I exited the Pokemon center sadly. I would have to go two weeks without a battle. The only way to get another pokemon would be to catch one without battling it, and it would have to be pretty weak anyways. It would be a miserable time. I started towards the forest to accomplish just that, but someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around.

"Michael?"

"Guess I'll come. Seeing that...you know...you're leaving this place and all anyways." He sniffed, looking away from me. Once again, the hoody was still covering the majority of his face. "But don't think we're friends or anything, 'cause we're _not_."

I nodded, trying to contain my excitement of actually traveling with someone else. Not only that, but I was still curious about his past. I wanted – no – _needed_ to know more about it. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but at least the cat died knowing.

"Good," I said, trying to sound as uncaring as I possibly could. I didn't think I could keep it up for long. "We're heading for Cerulean City now, me and Fushi. And you of course."

"Lead the way Mi-chan," he muttered.

At first I thought he was being rude again, but I realized soon that it had been said jokingly. After a while I began to like the name. "Mi-chan." It had a nice ring to it. Mi-chan and Michael, starting their great journey. It felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world. I was able to contain my excitement for now, but I knew it would be futile in the future.

"One thing," I said as we began heading out of the city, "I'd rather you call me Emmi."

"Okay...Mi-chan."

I grinned.

OoOoOoOoO

And so the journey begins! What will become of our two – and possibly more – trainers? Oops. I said too much already.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hooray for quick updates! They happen rarely, but when they do happen I'm grateful.

Chapter Three

We had been walking for hours since the departure from Pewter City. I'd decided to carry Fushi in my arms to keep it out of danger. The damage against its head was still raw it seemed; I could tell by the little bits of red that were appearing through the bandages. Despite the wound, he was still able to smile. I think that was the only thing that aided my motivation to keep my chin up. Michael walked coolly beside me, his hood still covering the major portion of his head. I wondered what he was hiding in there, if anything.

There was an odd, almost menacing, air between us. I was hesitant to say something because he would usually glare at me with his trademark expression and reply with something along the lines of "Yeah," which really meant "Whatever, I don't care." Looming ahead of us stood a high mountain with a cave opening facing our pathway. I was feeling a little nervous about entering a dark cave with a pokemon who couldn't fight.

We stopped in front of the cavern. A cool breeze glided out to us from the mouth of the cave, causing my pokemon to shiver in my arms. I hugged Fushi tightly to warm him. I was careful not to press against his wound. Beside me, Michael sighed.

"Jeez, just put your doll away. No use getting it frozen to death."

"Fushi isn't a doll...and he hates pokeballs..." I said quietly.

"Who cares what Fushi thinks? It's either that or he dies from the cold. Your choice." But in fact, it wasn't my choice. He snatched my pokeball from my belt and called back my pokemon against my will. I gritted my teeth angrily as he handed me my pokeball.

"Don't _ever_ do that. Don't _ever_ handle my pokemon."

"Like how you handled Growlithe? But don't think we're even just yet." He started to walk into the cave. "Come on. We're wasting time."

The darkness up ahead was beginning to frighten me. Moist breeze pushing from the cavern made it feel like we would be walking into the mouth of a monster. I stood quietly outside the cave, stalling what little time we must have had.

"It's dark."

"Fine then. You stay out here," he replied, not even slowing down.

Frustrated, I remained outside. I stayed cautiously for a few minutes to regain myself, knowing that he was _exactly _the type of person who would keep going. Behind me, a twig snapped. I turned around quickly to defend myself but found nothing. Then I remembered what Michael had said; people were after him. Did that mean they would kill anyone who associated with him? I found myself suddenly afraid.

"Wait up!" I called, chasing after him. I wrongly estimated our distance and ended up running into him, nearly knocking him over. He had already been facing me, not even twenty feet away from the entrance.

"Did you really think I would just leave you out there?"

"But-"

"You're really stupid. And I mean it this time."

I ignored the insult and took a quick glimpse of our surroundings. The cave wasn't as dark inside as it had first appeared. When my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, I saw shards of glowing green stone embedded in the cave walls and floor. It made the entire place seem like one big starry sky. A delighted gasp escaped my lips.

"Come on," he motioned, starting ahead again.

I noticed that he was taking the leader role now, but I didn't mind. I was terribly afraid of the dark. I followed behind him closely. I wanted to hold onto an arm or a shoulder to follow him more easily, but I was hesitant about touching him. He reminded me of a pack wolf who bristled up when anything came into contact with him. He seemed to be vanishing in and out with the different light intensities, so I followed the sound of his footsteps.

I think the mystical lighting seemed to be affecting Michael as well. Whenever I would add a comment about the caves, he wouldn't give me that "Yeah," answer anymore. He would simply nod. The farther we walked in the cave, the brighter the glowing seemed to become. I didn't notice this until we arrived at an opening cavern that lead out into a many bunch of smaller tunnels. The big cavern we were now standing in had the most gorgeous glowing stones sticking out of the ceiling. They were like emerald stalactites. Michael whistled sharply at them.

The light the stones gave off wasn't a sharp, rigid light either. It was a warm, soft green light that made you feel at home in this silent cave. When I listened intently, I thought I could hear a soft high note playing from the stones; so quiet and out of range that only creatures with special hearing could truly listen.

"Beautiful," I said softly. I felt as though speaking any louder would disturb the cave. "I could stay here forever."

"Well we can't," he replied. The coldness in his voice had disappeared. "The stones will hypnotize you and you'll be trapped in this cave to die."

"Hypnotize?"

"The clefairy in this cave put their spell on these stones. They glow to not only light the cave, but to attract pokemon to live here," he said. I noticed he had been staring up at the glowing stones while speaking, almost in a trance. "These stones can't survive or keep glowing unless there is life around them to drink up and use for the spell, and the pokemon can't leave this cave because of their stone hypnosis. This keeps everything balanced."

I was surprised at his knowledge. "Where are all the pokemon then?"

"Hiding, probably."

"You sure know a lot about this cave."

"I'd have to. Especially after be-" He cut off his sentence so quickly that my thoughts were left flying in the space around his leftover words. "Lets keep going."

I didn't question what he'd been about to say. I was quickly learning that asking questions about his past would lead to arguments. We started walking again. I saw that he seemed to know everywhere he was going. He picked the paths effortlessly without so much as a pause in walking. Even when we came to five paths in a row, he didn't stagger. I tried to trust where he was going, but a part of me wondered whether he really knew or if he was only trying to seem smarter than he was. When we turned a sharp corner to a place where the stone light was replaced by sunlight, I didn't have to wonder anymore.

"We did it! How did you know what tunnels to take?"

"It was an instinct," he muttered. His attitude was flaring up again.

As we started towards the exit, I thought I heard something – and felt it as well – rumble beneath my feet. I ignored it. It happened again, stronger this time.

"Did you feel that?"

"Keep walking."

I heard something in his voice that I couldn't make out. The ground rumbled more than before. Though the exit was only about ten yards away, I was still worried.

"Lets run."

"No," he said. "Just walk. I know more about this cave than you do."

I listened to his advice up until the fifth yard. We were almost there. But suddenly I heard an incredibly loud scream from a lower floor. It was the greatest scream I had heard in my life, and the most horrifying. It seemed to vibrate along the cave walls, shattering my eardrum. Forgetting Michael's advice, I covered my ears and closed my eyes, screaming as loud as I think I'd ever screamed in my life. I ran towards the exit terrified, my eyes closed to what lay ahead of me. Beneath me I could feel the floor shaking. The ground crumbled away beneath me, and suddenly there was no longer any floor. I felt myself falling.

I released my hands from my ears and opened my eyes. I was falling to the ground. Above me, Michael was also falling. Glowing green stones walled us in on all sides as we fell. I screamed, but the air rushing past my face whipped my voice away from me. I curled up tightly, knowing that when I hit the ground all would be over. I would be one of the few trainers to die at the ripe age of twelve.

"...alm...own!" It was Michael's voice above me. I could barely hear it. I didn't understand why he was so calm, but perhaps it was because he could see the ground underneath me, so he knew exactly when we would die. I didn't dare look down.

We seemed to have been falling for many eternities. I could feel that the air was becoming more humid. It was all so terrifying, especially because of the total silence of it all. When I looked above me, I could only see a faint detached rectangle of light where we had fallen. My heart thumped wildly in my chest. I felt that it would burst out of my ribcage and join me later as my body lay splattered over the ground.

And then suddenly, I impacted. There was no warning. At the moment of impact, I felt all muscles in my body tighten. The air whizzing past my ears, the screams, the terror, all of it vanished. I was now floating. I was sure I was dead by the coolness around me and the water-like substance I felt I was floating in. Just when I was about to breathe in – and I was happy I didn't – a hand suddenly grabbed me and lifted me upwards. For a second I thought it was an angel, but when my head came plunging out of what seemed like water, all my thoughts of having died rushed away.

I coughed and spluttered the water out of my mouth, opening my eyes. I – we actually – had fallen into a large cavern filled halfway up with clear water. The walls all around us were glowing brightly with the emerald stones. I suspected they were brighter here because of the life in the water. Beneath me, the same kinds of emerald stones were shining from beneath the water, at the very bottom. The water was so clean and so clear that I had no problem seeing the illuminated rock bed.

Michael was struggling to stay above the water, though I didn't know why. His hood had come completely off his head, and I was astonished at what I saw. His hair was remarkably long. It wasn't to-the-back long, but it reached to his shoulders, much longer than the hair of most boys. I thought it looked rather pretty when wet, but it was probably just as pretty when dry. He caught a glimpse of me gazing at his hair, but I quickly focused my attention away. All the while he struggled to stay above the water.

"Are ...you okay...?" I asked, completely out of breath. I hadn't noticed how much wind had been knocked out of me.

He sank below the water once but quickly pulled back up again. I felt like I was in a wave pool. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well for one...it doesn't look like you can swim..."

"I _can_ swim," he replied indignantly. "How else would I have-" He sank beneath the water again. By much flailing, he rose to the top, "...saved you from drowning? You're just lucky I was here."

I looked around for a bank to rest on. There was no surface but what lay beneath the water. I sank beneath the surface to find an underwater tunnel. I was relieved when I saw what looked like a small pathway in the water to another room. I just hoped it wasn't flooded, because I couldn't hold my breath for very long.

"I see a path..." I said tiredly after rising to the surface. "Just take a deep breath and follow me."

I took a deep breath and plunged beneath the water, kicking swiftly to the pathway. I didn't wait for him to follow- I knew he would. After all, it was a matter of life or death. He confirmed my beliefs when I heard a rushing sound in the water behind me. I led him through the tiny pathway which went underneath one of the walls and swerved into a smaller uphill pathway. The passage finally opened out into a wider one, which – to my luck – had a pool similar to the last one. I rose out of the now chest-high water. Michael was soon to follow.

It took a moment to catch our breaths, but we had made it to what looked like another cavern. A pathway on dry land alongside the water lead up to a staircase that disappeared behind a wall of thin rock with large holes cut into it, making it easy to see the many steps. I crawled over to the bank tiredly to catch the rest of my breath. Michael reached the bank as well, more tired than I. He took this time to glare at me angrily with his trademark expression. I was beginning to see things return to normal, especially since we were now safe.

"What's wrong with you?" he sputtered, along with some water. "Didn't I tell you not to run?"

"But the scream-"

"I told you not to run," he repeated. "If you had only listened to me, we'd be practically in Cerulean City already. Why are you so hardheaded?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" I said. Our voices seemed to shake the entire cave. "It was an _instinct_."

He scowled at my mock of his earlier remark. "Just shut up. You're really getting on my last nerves." He shook the water out of his hair, remembered that his hood had been off for quite some time, and rushed to put it back on.

"I could say the same," I replied dryly. I wrung my hair out with my hands and stood up.

The staircase wound up against a back wall in a spiral towards the top of the very tall cavern we were currently in. Lining the way along the stairs – after the thin front wall ended – were many small circular tunnels of various shapes and sizes that could lead anywhere. Most of them looked like they contained pokemon.

Michael stepped out of the water in quiet rage. His clothes were dripping wet, even more so than my own. We probably looked like clowns in our wet attire. I saw blood trickling down his shoe and sock from a wound that had been covered up by his pants. He quickly wiped the blood away and hid it from my sight.

"Let's get going."

"Your leg-"

"It's fine."

He half-limped towards the stairway. I rushed out of the water to go after him and we climbed along the rocky stairwell. It was more like stepping up a steep ramp covered with rough pave stones. I saw the indents of pokemon paws and claws from when they must have created the passage. Above me, shadows twisted against the light on the stairs. I saw shapes of things that were definitely not human.

The staircase ended on a flat platform that bridged over a gap with a large drop to the bottom. I looked down to the pool we had come in by. The shallow water was tinted red by blood. The room on the other side of the bridge was lit by something much brighter than glowing stones. I could tell from the way the light seemed to be crackling through the low opening. I thought I'd heard a voice.

I watched as Michael crossed the bridge before me. I was worried. It wasn't that the bridge was narrow – because it was very broad – but I was afraid his wound would cause him to slip and fall over the edge. A couple times he staggered on his leg and leaned too far over, which would gave me brief panic attacks. He finally motioned for me to follow him and I obliged.

"Stay here," he told me as he got on his knees to crawl into the room.

I nodded. "Careful."

It was quiet for a time. A surprised gasp from inside was the trigger for me to follow behind him. I also crawled through the small entrance. When I stood up inside, I found my estimations of other beings had been correct. In the middle of the small room floated a pokemon I had never seen in my life. Sparks leapt from the ominous aura surrounding it. It wasn't until I squinted my eyes against the brightness that I saw a figure sitting down behind the pokemon, curling up in fear against the wall. The bouncing shadows from the light prevented me from making it out.

Michael tried to go up behind the angry pokemon, but he received a nasty jolt instead. He stumbled backwards into the wall. Within moments I could see blood leaking out onto the floor from his wound, staining his pants even worst than before. He cursed under his breath.

Something shifted behind the angry pokemon. A female voice cried, "Go away!"

"Make your pokemon go back!" Michael yelled at her threateningly. His yelling only caused the girl more fear- this caused her pokemon to send a trickle of electricity dancing across the floor near both of our feet in a warning signal. I knew that girls aren't usually afraid of other girls, so I thought I should speak instead. I motioned for Michael to not speak anymore. I didn't know if he understood it.

"Are you okay?" I asked above the crackling electricity.

I saw the figure raise her head at my voice. She continued to look more like a silhouette against the wall. "Who's that?"

"Just a girl," I said. "We're trying to get out of this cave- Michael and I."

"Yeah. But it wasn't my fault we're stuck here," he added in dryly, rolling his eyes. I had a feeling that he would try to start something with me even in the fiery depths of hell.

The silhouetted girl stood on her feet this time. Her pokemon lessened the brightness of its electricity. I could now clearly see the orange-red tint of its limbless body. I pulled out my Pokedex and inquired of the pokemon, but the screen only said, "Data not found."

"That pokemon isn't in this region, so you'll have to update your Pokedex," Michael told me. "It's a rotom."

"Just who are you people?" The girl stepped forward. I noticed now that she wasn't a little girl at all but a teenager, looking about eighteen, with long light blond hair. She hadn't bothered to wear any shoes or socks. Her unnaturally bright blue-green eyes reminded me of the deep ocean.

"I could ask the same question," Michael muttered. "Do you greet all strangers by jolting them?"

She turned her head to her pokemon and mouthed something I couldn't see. Rotom seemed to understand. A bright light enveloped the cave as the pokemon increased its luminescence. My eyes had to adjust to the sudden brightness. When they did, I noticed that the girl's skin was as pale as the walls of the cave themselves. I wondered how long she'd been in here."My name's Lilith. And no, I don't," she said to Michael. She faced me. "And what's your name, hun?"

"Just call me Emmi," I said with a spark in my voice. I steadied myself against a sudden floor rumbling. "But right now we have to get out of here. I think this cave is unstable."

Lilith nodded, her eyes suddenly welling up with water. She looked away from us towards the very top of the cavern (the room had no ceiling), where there was a sloping hole high in the wall. "I fell into this section by that tunnel. I've been trapped in here for a long time." She folded her bare arms. I wondered how long _anyone _could survive with as little clothing as she wore.

"That must've hurt," I noted, imagining myself falling from that height.

"It did. Luckily I had Rotom here to brighten up the room. I would have been too scared otherwise." She sighed, poking at something that was dangling from her pocket. "And my cell won't work in here, so I can't call _him_..."

Michael sighed and took a seat up against the wall. He flipped his growlithe's pokeball boredly. "So this is how it ends."

I looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. We fell more than one thousand feet, I'm guessing. We're one thousand feet from the exit, we're trapped in here without Flying pokemon, and this is a dead end." He glanced up at the tunnel high above our heads. "There's no way we can reach that or climb up it, especially if it's as steep as Lithi-"

"Lilith-"

"...says it is," he finished. He smiled to himself. I noticed that he only ever smiled when it had to do with what he was thinking- never to anyone else. His smiles were always so cold.

"Don't talk like that," I told him, taking a seat beside him. Yet I was feeling just as hopeless as he was. "There has to be a way out of here. Maybe we didn't look far enough. Who knows? There may be a pathway to the exit right above our heads and we don't know it yet." I nodded to myself determined. "I didn't come this far to die in a cave not even one fourth of the way through my journey. That's just not going to happen. And I hope you don't give up either, because there's a definite way to shake those guys off your trail. Don't say we're going to die just yet."

It was quiet for a while. Then he tiredly leaned his head towards me. "Shut up. You're so boring to listen to."

I felt a pang of...something. I didn't know what it was. But of all the insults, that was the only one that had actually gotten through to me.

"Sorry," I said quietly.

Lilith had already taken a seat and now glanced back and forth between us. She seemed to be wondering about something. As we all sat quietly, the cave rumbled beneath our feet. Perhaps it was only the pokemon moving around because we were out of sight. When the rumbling stopped, Michael raised his head.

"Lilith, was that you who screamed earlier?"

She snapped out of her daze. "Hm? Oh, yes it was. That was when I slid down the tunnel."

"But didn't you say you were trapped in here for a long time?"

"No. I was trapped in the_ cave _for a long time, but I fell in _here_ only a while ago," she said. She smiled at the way she'd played with her words. "Now don't get me wrong- this cave is beautiful. But I just can't _stand_ it anymore. It's too cold and damp. I was too afraid to even exit this room."

"Well do you know how to swim? We came here by a pool down there." He tilted his head towards the bridge outside the room. "There's a pathway in the water that leads to another, smaller, cavern. If you have a Flying pokemon we could get up to the entrance one by one that way."

Lilith's eyes brightened. "That's right! I have a fearow!"

The whole room seemed to brighten at her remark.

OoOoOoOoO

I savored my new moments of freedom outside, inhaling the sweet air. Having exhausted myself from swimming back through the tunnel and attempting to hang onto the neck of the rather clumsy bird pokemon, I just let myself relax now- although I admit, plainly falling back into the grass and injuring the back of my head was sorta stupid. Behind me, still in the cave, I could hear Michael and Lilith conversing cheerfully. I was beginning to think he was crushing on her. Earlier when we were still climbing up out of the hole, I'd heard Lilith on the phone talking with the guy she'd mentioned before. If that was the case, Michael would be in for a big disappointment. Somehow that made me happy.

I gazed up at the clouds and picked out little shapes with my mind. After the first wave of imaginary creatures had passed, I started to see the shapes of pokemon floating by. At a growlithe's appearance, I immediately remembered the markings on Michael's pokeball. I reminded myself to ask him about it later.

A half an hour had passed by the time I'd finished my cloud watching. It was now mid evening. I noticed that the conversation between the two teens had died down, so I looked behind me. They were still talking, but their voices were hushed now. I was curious as to what they discussed. Michael had never had a kind conversation with me before.

"_Shut up. You're so boring to listen to."_

I repeated his words in my head over and over again. There was that feeling again; that indescribable feeling. I think it wouldn't have affected me so much if he'd talked with me regularly, but any time I even tried to converse, he would give me a look that screamed of hatred. Lilith smiled at him through the conversation, leaning closer to hear his words. I wondered why he would talk quietly with a total stranger rather than a frien- oh that's right. According to him, we weren't friends.

I poked at the ground with a twig, trying to pass the time. Although a bit tired, I knew it was rude to interrupt a conversation. Michael suddenly laughed. The twig fell from my hands. I looked over at the strange phenomenon- Michael...laughing...? Lilith was laughing as well. She suddenly stood up, stifling her laughter behind her hand.

"Well it was lovely talking to you," she added between giggles as she came towards where I sat. "But lets not forget Em-dear over here."

"My name's _Emmi,_" I said sternly as she took a seat next to me.

"Sorry about that, hun," she said, still giggling some. "We were just having a little talk. I didn't expect it to last for so long. You're lucky having such a funny boy to travel with."

I looked up towards the sky, sighing inwardly. Lilith sighed with me and patted my head, reminding me of the older sister I'd never had.

"What's wrong?"

The darkening sky held my gaze. "He never talks to me."

"Never? I'm sure he's done it at least a few times, right?"

I shook my head. "Never. Either I try to talk to him...and he gives me this hate look... Or he says something to me first, but it's never anything kind..."

She nodded in understanding. "I see. But still, it's a little hard to believe."

"That's because you've never been around him long enough," I said quietly. "You don't know anything about him. He completely hates me. He completely ignores me. And what's worst... He talks with a stranger more than me, his supposed friend." I paused. "Well...never mind. We're not friends, according to him."

"Emmi." She looked at me sternly. Her face seemed drawn by watercolors because of the tears in my eyes. Of course, I wouldn't cry in front of her though. The last thing I needed or wanted was a pity session. "I think it's _you_ who doesn't know _Michael_."

"You've only been around him for a few hours. What could you possibly know?" I didn't mean for it to sound as rude as it came out. I noticed that a car had honked in the distance. It sounded like it was coming closer.

Lilith chuckled to herself. "Hun, do you want to know something Michael told me about you?"

"No. Don't humor him by insulting me for him."

"An insult? No no no no."

She was quiet for a few minutes. I heard the sound of wheels breaking through rough landscape. Lilith stood up suddenly at the noise, motioning towards Michael. When her hand returned by her side, I saw the swift form of a silver car poking out from behind the trees in the distance. I didn't know what was going on, but Michael and Lilith did. Michael was already heading over to the person, waving them over. I decided to see who it was for myself, but Lilith held me back.

"He said he admires you," she told me, winking.

I paused. "Michael said that?"

"He sure did. I could tell even before he told me." She laughed, plucking me in the nose. I have to admit, it did hurt. "I just wish you could see it yourself. I bet if you looked back in time, you'd be able to see the evidence. You have such a pessimistic mind."

I didn't have time to question her anymore or to ask what the heck that word meant. She suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the silver car, eager for me to see it. The car had parked right in front of the cave. An astonished Michael stood right in front of it, holding his arms out in front of him in alarm. He looked like he had almost been run over. His face was priceless.

"Dude, learn how to drive!" he yelled, catching his breath.

"Ah, sorry," came a voice from inside the car. The car suddenly hitched forward, nearly knocking Michael over. I stifled a laugh. The man in the car rolled down his window. I saw a familiar face. "Whoops. I meant to go in reverse."

"Hun, are you still trying to drive that old thing?" Lilith called to the driver, laughing. She placed her hands on her hips jokingly. "Get up out of there before you kill someone."

Brock rose from the car, to my surprise, laughing to himself. Lilith wasted no time charging towards him – kicking herself over the hood of the car on her way – and tackling him with a hug. Brock stroked her hair, suddenly tearing up. I didn't know if the tears rolling down his cheeks were because he'd finally found his girlfriend, or because she had knocked the wind out of him. It must have been a combination of both.

Lilith pulled away from him after a while, smiling. "Don't get all dramatic on me, now. You'll make me cry too."

"Can't help it," Brock said, partially laughing. He turned to me suddenly. "I was trying to tell you – before you left the gym – that my girlfriend was missing and that I needed help finding her, but I can see everything worked out for the better anyways."

"What happened?" I asked Lilith. "Did you run away?"

"Oh, I forgot you were over there and hadn't heard my phone call," she said, nodding to herself. "We got into a little fight... But it doesn't matter anymore. Everything is fine now."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Unless of course you still have it..."

"I swear I don't!" she said, taking a pokeball suddenly behind her back. She dropped it to the ground – I think she had been trying to kick it away – but unfortunately she'd forgotten pokeball mechanics. The ball opened on impact with the ground, releasing her floating electric pokemon. It looked much more frightening out here than it had inside the cave, which had been able to match with its scary appearance. When outside against the cool grass, the pokemon looked like a floating...ghost.

"Oops."

"'Oops' is right," Brock said, sighing. "I thought we already went over this... Rotom messes with all our electronic equipment in the house. And even inside its pokeball (if it's close enough to the electronic) it can cause things to go haywire. I can't live with an alarm clock going off ten times in a row even when unplugged..."

She sighed, frustrated. "It's just so darn cute... Like you are."

"Haha. That won't work this time."

Lilith stared at her pokemon sadly, seeming to know that she had to do the right thing. "You're lucky I didn't get as attached to it as my other pokemon. Otherwise I'd have to run away again." She said the last part jokingly, but she still seemed sad about her pokemon. "Then again...the alarm glitch is a bit annoying..."

"Why don't you give it to one of them?" Brock suggested, his voice softening. "I'm sure it'd be better than leaving it in the wild."

"I suppose so." She turned to Michael with a grin. "It was fun talking to you! I had a real blast. And I like you – don't get me wrong – but..." She turned to me, smiling. "I think Emmi should get this pokemon."

"Really?" My heart skipped a beat. A free rare pokemon was like finding a glass of ice water in the middle of an abandoned desert.

"Of course! I also think you need it," she said, motioning toward the direction of Cerulean City. "Michael says you only have a bulbasaur – an injured one. That's not going to be enough to defeat Misty. Trust me."

I couldn't hold in my excitement anymore. I ran over and hugged Lilith, overjoyed. "Thank you so much, sis!"

"Sis?"

I froze. Embarrassed, I tried to regain my composure. "What? I said Lilith. Not sis."

"Whatever you say, hun," she said, laughing. She recalled her pokemon and handed me the pokeball. I took it gratefully. "Now you take care of Rotom. Make sure it gets plenty of darkness, seeing that it's a Ghost-type and all. That's all you have to do to feed it."

I squealed. "I will."

Brock glanced down at his watch. "Damn. We better get going."

Lilith nodded and leapt back over the hood of the car, not even stumbling when she landed. After both of them had seated themselves – and Michael had kept far away to avoid being run over again – we waved goodbyes to them. They waved back as well, and the car sped off into the distance, just avoiding the cave by an inch. I stared hard at the pokeball in my hand. Rotom. It was such a generic name. I would name it something cute.

"We should get going too," Michael said as he passed me, starting into the forest. "Sis."

I slapped myself mentally. Why did I always screw up in front of _him_?

"Hardee har har," I fakely laughed. I followed behind him.

For some reason the air in the forest had changed. I felt...happier? Brighter? Free? I didn't understand, and I didn't know exactly what had brightened my mood. The new pokemon was exciting, but that hadn't been it. Perhaps I finally felt like I had friends? Excluding Michael of course, which meant I had _one_ friend. But that was a start. That's when I remembered what Lilith had told me Michael had said.

As I stared curiously at the red head marching ahead boldly, when I remembered the insults he had aimed at me before, when I remembered his hateful glances he kept throwing at me, when I thought about how he'd laughed cheerfully with a total stranger rather than me, I shook my head to myself. She must have been lying to me to make me feel better. He wasn't the kind of person who would say something like that.

I sighed, feeling suddenly drained. Even so, I mustered a smile. I had beaten Brock by the strangest luck ever received, I'd survived being trapped in a cave after falling one thousand feet through the floor, and I'd been _given_ a rare pokemon that would no doubt help me defeat Misty. I gazed up at the passing sky, my spirits lifted. I finally understood why I was so happy.

OoOoOoOoO

They're off to Cerulean City to fight against Misty! That's all the hint I'm giving for the next chapter. The plot will begin to finally open up in the next few chapters, so keep your eyes opened!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: This chapter will be a bit longer but I hope not too long. (I hit a huge writer's block while doing this chapter. I hope it's not too easy to tell at which parts.)

Chapter Four

By the time we arrived at Cerulean City, the Pokemon Center had closed for the night. I didn't really mind sleeping outside, considering how beautiful the city was. Michael seemed grumpy at me though. I think it was because I'd caused us to lose time by falling in Mt. Moon, so – really – it was _my_ fault we were late. I kept quiet to make up for the lost time since he didn't seem to enjoy talking to me. Everything considered, it had been a cold journey. I'd wanted to travel with him to have someone to talk to to pass the time, but now it was more like traveling with a shadow.

"Lets camp here. And keep your voice down," he told me, throwing down his backpack on a hill that overlooked the city.

I threw down mine as well and took a seat in the grass. It felt soothing to sit on something cool after walking for two and a half hours. Michael set up a place for a fire and released his growlithe to use Flamethrower. She looked as tired as ever after starting the fire – and from not being healed since the gym battle – and proceeded to lie down, but he kicked against her side, startling her onto her feet again.

"I didn't say you could lie down," he said to his pokemon, taking a seat himself. He called her back. "Stupid mutt."

I was hesitant to raise my voice. "That was mean."

"Shut up."

I sighed inwardly. The crackling of the campfire reminded me of his horrible temper. Suddenly I remembered a long-awaited question.

"What were those numbers and letters on Growlithe's pokeball?"

He raised his head, quickly snapping the pokeball back on its belt. "Don't worry about it."

"But I really want to know..."

"Who cares?" There was that cold look again. He seemed to enjoy his emotional torture of me.

Drained, I lied down beside the fire so I'd fall asleep. That horrible feeling I'd had earlier was welling up again.

"Why are you so mean to me? And not to anybody else..." It came out suddenly, without my permission.

He loosened the string on his hood, which was – not surprisingly – still covering his head. I thought for a second that he would take it off, but he never did. He never answered my question, completely ignoring me. A giant lump formed in my throat. I remembered Lilith from earlier, how her hair had been light and blond and a pretty whitish color. It was a great deal different than my dark hair which, although long, must have not have been up to his standards for being friends. Not to mention, I was young and inexperienced, whereas Lilith was older and probably had a few years of pokemon training tacked on.

Was that all I was to him? Just a little helpless girl who was unable to control pokemon? I remembered that Fushi, the only pokemon I'd been raising, had been knocked out within the first turns of the gym battle _both times_. Yet Michael's growlithe, _weak_ against rock types, had burned Onix to a crisp. And that wasn't all that downgraded me- I'd knocked him over the first time we met, making a horrible first impression, I'd caused him to lose time to wherever he'd been going by talking with him, I'd stolen his pokemon and used it in a fight that badly wounded it, I'd caused us to drop more than one thousand feet in Mt. Moon because of ignoring his advice, and now I was in danger as well as he because my making him late the days before had brought angry people chasing after him.

He must have really hated me then. Nothing I'd done the entire time had been helpful. And yet a completely random stranger gained more respect from him because she had managed to save our butts with her Fearow when my stupid antics almost killed us. It was no wonder that he hated talking to me, hated being around me, hated the mere idea of listening to me. I was a bad luck charm to wherever he went.

I suddenly felt sick. Not wanting him to be around if I suddenly vomited, I quickly hopped up, pointed to where I was going, and rushed off into the closest shadow I could find. I had to end this cycle of hatred. The only way I could begin to do that would be if I won the battle against Misty _without_ the help of the borrowed Rotom, despite that being the greatest reason it had been given to me.

I went further into the shadows, straying far away from the camp. Eventually I decided it would be best to simply go for a walk in the woods. I'd be able to catch a pokemon this way and Rotom could get out and be able to drink in the darkness.

I released Rotom from its ball and the area around us was immediately illuminated. I hurriedly motioned for Rotom to follow me deeper into the woods to avoid being seen. The ghost seemed confused that I wasn't its trainer- after all, it had been inside its pokeball while the exchange had happened. Fortunately for me it hadn't been too attached to its past trainer.

I started our walk through the woods, keeping my eyes opened for pokemon. A few minutes into our walk, I thought I heard a twig snap far away in the distance. It must've only been a rattata, a pokemon that wouldn't help me defeat Misty anyways. I started walking again. Once more, a twig snapped in the distance, but it sounded only slightly closer this time. Rotom seemed to be growing increasingly fidgety, which was a little unnerving. Again, I started walking, but this time I changed my direction to head back to the camp. Without warning, a sudden fury of snapping twigs and rustling bushes began to follow from behind me.

I didn't wait for the sound to get any closer. Pushing Rotom in front of me so I could see the ground beneath my feet, I ran. Whatever was behind me started to catch up, and I was growing tired. When I heard the sound directly behind my feet, I turned around suddenly to fight back. I was startled when a tiny pokemon not even larger than Fushi collided with my legs. All fears gone, I examined the blue pokemon. It looked nothing like a rattata, except for the tiny tooth sticking out from its mouth. Tiny flecks of deep blue were splattered along its pudgy back legs, and its back was lined with spikes.

The pokemon cutely opened its eyes, which I could see were a beautiful ruby red. It shifted its whiskers a little bit, as if trying to scent who I was, and then backed away from me. I now saw that the harmless little pokemon was only a female nidoran, probably looking for her parents.

I knelt down and held out my hand. "What's wrong? Are you lost?"

"Nido..."

The nidoran looked like she was shivering. I wondered how long she'd been away from the warmth of her mother. When I held out my hand to pet her, she only backed away again, looking like she would sprint from me at any moment. I knew that this was probably the only chance I had of catching a pokemon that night – and a _nidoran_ at that! They were usually found next to their highly-protective parents, so I was one lucky trainer.

I reached around for a pokeball and threw it, not bothering to weaken the young pokemon. Nidoran tried to run away, but the pokeball ended up hitting her and dragging her inside anyways. I waited nervously as the ball shook on the ground, once, twice, three times... And finally, the red light faded.

"Yes!" I shouted, not caring if the entire world heard me.

I squealed inside as I picked up the pokeball. After three days, I had finally captured my first pokemon. The only problem was that I hadn't even battled it...but that didn't matter. It was the first step to becoming stronger, which is always easiest. I resisted the temptation to do a victory dance and headed back to camp. In the distance a couple of twigs broke, but I ignored them this time.

After about five minutes, I could see the light from a campfire up ahead. I emerged at the campsite excited to tell about what I'd done. The log that Michael had been sitting on was now empty, but his backpack was still there. I recalled Rotom and took a seat by the fire, thinking he had probably just gone to the bathroom or something. When I'd been warming by the fire for more than a few minutes, I knew something had to be wrong.

'Where could he be?' I thought. 'Could he possibly have run away?'

Run away. Was I really that annoying and stupid? Maybe he'd decided to ditch me and run off by himself, thinking I was too weak to attempt the rest of the journey... But then, why was his bag still here?

"Michael!" I shouted into the woods. "Where are you!"

I waited a few minutes for his reply. The seconds were tense. However, when Michael emerged from the forest not too long afterwards, I was relieved. He looked extremely furious. The anger burning in his eyes reminded me of when I'd met him at the Pokemon Center, where he had almost tried to strangle me. And he looked like he really would strangle me now. The trembling fists at his sides looked like they wanted to impact with my face. I never saw a person with such a frightening appearance before, just like the appearance of his growlithe at the beginning of my first gym battle.

"You...fucking...idiot."

My blood curdled at the intensity of his words. He came to me, lifting me to my feet by the neck of my turtleneck. I stared face to face with him now. For what felt like the longest period in my life, I feared that he would hit me. His grip on my turtleneck tightened and he suddenly shoved me away from him. It took all my strength not to stumble over and fall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he said, reaching for his bag and quickly throwing it on. "I told you to keep your fucking voice down. Now they probably know exactly where we are."

I loosened the place where he'd grabbed my turtleneck. "I was only trying to find you."

"I was looking for _you_ too," he said angrily. "Your scream could probably be heard for miles, and not to mention your fucking _second_ one."

I then remembered the "Yes!" I had shouted from having caught the pokemon. So he hadn't run away. He had come looking for me so he could shut me up.

"Start packing. We have to get out of here before they come."

Without waiting for me, he raced off towards the city- only a steep hill down from where we camped. I had a feeling that this time he wouldn't be waiting for me. I had gone into the woods to catch a pokemon, to train it, to battle Misty, to defeat Misty..._to impress_ _him_. And yet no matter what I did, I was still that little, annoying, stupid, immature girl in his eyes. Was there ever a day when I _didn't_ piss him off? If so, I would probably never live to see it.

But even after an incident like this I still had to go after him. I refused to let myself cry and snatched up my bag, quickly following after him. Just like I'd predicted, he had gone on ahead without me.

OoOoOoOoO

From the hilltop, Cerulean City had looked like a miniature Los Vegas. However now that it was later in the night and most of the stores had closed, I felt like I was walking through a ghost town. There was an impending fog around the city- the type that you usually see when you wake up in the morning. This fog was dimmer and thinner and nearly impossible to see – and not to mention a thousand times colder – but I could still feel it. It made the town feel like it had been deserted, but every now and then I'd see a house with an occasional light on, which got rid of those fears.

A few street lights looked to be burned out, which made it difficult to see in the darkness. But I didn't dare take Rotom out for fear that the light would attract the enemy that had been chasing us all along. Michael must have been running fast, because I could see no trace of him. His entire presence seemed to have disappeared in the time I'd been searching. I had given up on running a while ago. My strength had already been sapped from the walk through the woods.

'What a creepy city...' I thought, straying away from the alleyways where I was sure monster-shaped shadows would loom. 'I thought Cerulean City was supposed to be an energetic town...'

As I went deeper into the city, the fog thickened and the temperature suddenly dropped. I guessed that there was some kind of beach or river nearby that caused it. Eventually it got to the point where I was thought of turning back. I could faintly see a wall beside me, so I felt it – just to make sure – and decided to let myself sleep there. The Pokemon Center was closed (not like I would have found it anyways) and the forest was dangerous, but so were the dark alleyways. It would be safer to sleep in the open, despite the embarrassment that might come when I woke up.

Just as I was about to take a seat, my arm was suddenly grabbed and I was quickly pulled around a corner that I hadn't noticed before. My first reaction was to kick whoever it was in a place where they would really feel it, but luckily I looked to see who it was first. It was the red head, less angrier than before. He pulled me further into the alleyway, which was almost completely clear of fog. I noticed a black-tipped object right behind him.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked. The fog acted like a sponge and soaked up most of his voice. I still wondered about it.

"When you took off running like that..."

"Never mind."

He went over to one of the alley walls and leaned against it tiredly, revealing the pokemon behind his back. I had seen this pinkish-white pokemon before, with the curl of hair covering its forehead and the black on its ears. However I wasn't so sure about the two wings coming from its back, or its curly tail.

"Is that a jigglypuff?" I asked.

"Clefable."

"Oh." I paused to think back to Mt. Moon, which was considered the home of these hard-to-find pokemon. "You caught a really rare one..."

"You think I wouldn't catch one after all the time I spent in Mt. Moon?" He suddenly froze. "But it was a while ago, so don't ask about it."

I sighed inwardly. He was hiding something again. I leaned against the wall nearest to me and looked out towards the fog. It wasn't as condensed as before, I noticed.

"What's with the fog?" I asked him. "I've heard of this stuff happening here, but never to this extent."

"It's not a fog," he said tiredly. "It's Icy Wind attack."

"You mean your Clefable used it?"

He nodded.

I was astonished. I had never heard of a normal type pokemon using Icy Wind before. "Was it a Technical Machine?"

He nodded.

"Do you think you can teach me how to use Technical Machines?"

He nodded.

"Why did you use Icy Wind anyways?"

"You just don't shut up, do you?" he snapped, glaring at me fiercely from his side of the alley. "I swear, if you ask me one more question tonight..._one more_... I will personally strangle you. And I don't care if you're a girl." He let himself slide down the wall into a sitting position. I could see he was very tired, both physically and mentally. "I _had_ to teach Clefable Icy Wind. I use it to keep myself from being seen by...certain people."

I gasped. "Then it-" I suddenly cut myself off. I had been about to ask, "Then it had been you who made the fog while I was just starting my journey?" but I remembered his threat and kept silent. The new coldness in the atmosphere hadn't come from the attack.

I sat down with my back against the wall. The total silence, along with the icy coldness, was uncomfortable. Every ten minutes or so, when the fog would begin to almost completely clear up, Clefable would hop over to the entrance to the alley and blow out its Icy Wind attack. This would last for a few minutes so that the fog would completely wrap around our small area of the city. Then after the attack ended, Clefable would tiredly walk back to the middle of the alley – which was blocked off by a metal and springy gate – and slump down into a half-awake sleep. Michael didn't heal his pokemon once. He was drifting off to sleep, but I was annoyed at how someone could fall asleep with their pokemon doing the work for them.

"This is so dull," I said aloud, breaking the silence.

At my voice, he seemed to partially awaken. "It's either this or you travel alone."

I sighed. Then I remembered what I had done earlier and the entire reason behind it.

"I caught a pokemon in the woods... It was a female nidoran."

He raised his head so quickly that I jumped. "A...female nidoran?"

"I think she was looking for her parents."

"That's..." He stared at me curiously. "Just go to sleep. We have to wake up early."

He was hiding something else. I did what he said anyways, laying against my side. The cool ground was uncomfortable to sleep on. Michael must have been used to tough conditions like these if he had been in Mt. Moon before. Maybe that was why he could so easily find our way out. But even after traveling through it _five times_, the average person wouldn't be able to remember so easily.

I closed my eyes as I thought about these things, not really feeling sleepy.

OoOoOoOoO

When I woke up the next day, Michael was already awake, scouring the outside of the alleyway to make sure nobody noticed us. It wasn't as hot as the day before, so it must have been sometime in the early morning. I sat up and winced at the sharp pain in my side from sleeping on cement. To my surprise, I was now facing the wall.

Michael turned around when he heard me. "You're finally awake."

"Yeah..." I yawned tiredly. "What time is it?"

"Early enough."

I hugged myself in the cold. Thanks to the Icy Wind from the night before, this part of the city was extra cool. The alley's wiry metal gate had a few loose icicles from the water that had maintained a cycle of melting and freezing. I stood up sleepily and stretched, but Michael seemed amused.

"Your hair."

I blinked. "What?"

"It's really weird looking now." There was a slight laugh in his voice, impossible to hide behind his humored face. "Like you got electrocuted or something."

I cautiously touched the top of my head and nearly jumped when I felt loose sky-pointing strands completely unjoined with the rest. Embarrassed, I combed my hair down with my fingers until it returned to its original form- however it wasn't exactly the same as before. I began to understand the importance of my mother's "pointless" tactics, the first being to _keep my hair in a bun at all times_.

"How embarrassing..." I muttered. Then louder, "I roll over in my sleep..."

"Wow. I don't care."

I frowned at the remark, adjusting the pokeball belt at my waist. Then I remembered my motivation. "Are we going to get going soon? I have to defeat Misty."

"Who said you were battling Misty?"

"Well, being a trainer, I'd think I were supposed to..."

He sighed, as if talking to me were the most agonizing thing in the world. "Don't you get it? They know we're here. We have to get out of this city, possibly to Vermillion City." He paused to think about something. "Then maybe we could...take the ship to a different region..." His face brightened. "...and they would never know where we were."

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," I said. "I can't just go to a different region. I have to battle the gyms in the right order so my pokemon aren't too weak."

"Like they'd be able to stand a chance anyways." He rolled his eyes. "You couldn't defeat Brock's rock-ground pokemon with a _grass_ type."

"It was a huge pokemon...Onix."

"And my growlithe kicked its ass, didn't it?"

I lowered my eyes. "I know. That's why I want to keep training. So that maybe I can defeat Misty."

"You would only win because of Lilith's Rotom," he said. He shook his head, as if contemplating my hopelessness. "You're winning using other people's pokemon, which doesn't really make you a trainer at all."

Those words burned through my heart like a wildfire. I sucked in my breath to keep my voice from breaking. "I was planning on winning with my new pokemon."

"You mean the baby nidoran? You haven't even trained it yet." He sighed. "You can't expect to win without training and hard work. Otherwise _anyone_ could become Pokemon Master."

I agreed with him inwardly, pushing through the hurt. "That's why I need time to train so I can defeat Misty..."

"Well I need to go. I'm not risking my life just so you can waste your time training for a battle you'll never win."

The burning feeling in my chest was growing. It was the same feeling as before, but it had increased in power tenfold. So I had been right. I was only a little girl in his eyes. I couldn't live with this.

"I really can win," I said. "If I don't win the battle with Misty, we can stop traveling together. You can be on your own again, like you really want, and I'll go off and train."

"I'll take the last part."

I ignored the insult. "And if I _do_ win the battle with Misty, you have to promise me that you'll explain everything that's going on, even when I ask about something in the future."

"No way in hell," he snapped suddenly. "Why the hell should I tell _you _anything?"

"Because I'm curious. I don't know _anything_ about you."

"Then go off by yourself if you hate it so much."

I froze with a new realization. Could it have been...that he had been talking down to me...because he never really wanted to travel with me? Because he had only been trying to be nice? Or maybe he only wanted to travel with me so that the people who were after him wouldn't suspect that it was him. After the incident the night before, after I blatantly yelled his name, they knew it was him- so I was of no use anymore. Then...of course we would never be friends. I even remembered when he'd said it in the beginning.

My motivation was suddenly crumbling. "I will. If I lose."

He sighed. "I can't believe I'm actually... What the hell am I doing..." He looked up at me tiredly. "Deal. But if you lose, you have to promise that you won't follow me anyways and annoy the hell out of me. And if you happen to get a lucky hit and end up winning, don't keep wasting my time with your stupid games."

"It's a deal," I said. I reached deep down inside for the motivation I'd had before, but I couldn't seem to find it anymore.

"Lets hurry and get to the gym then."

He tightened the hood over his head, pulling the bottom up to cover most of his face. I wondered why he did that when they already knew who he was.

OoOoOoOoO

We found Cerulean Gym in a secluded place near the center of the city. I guessed that not many people traveled to the gym except for the water shows. From what I heard, Misty was twenty three years old now and had a much kinder attitude than she'd had a long time ago; though her fieriness hadn't disappeared. The "The Little Mermaid" show she'd been doing for years had finally ended seven years ago, when her sisters – knowing she was finally of legal age – went off to live with their boyfriends.

As we entered the gym, I saw a large rectangle-shaped pool of water taking up the majority of the room. Coming up from the bottom were a few wide pillars that stood as platforms just above the water, allowing for non-water pokemon to fight as well. The room was fairly white.

"Anyone here?" I yelled. The emptiness of the place was alarming. I knew Michael wouldn't want to waste time searching with me for a gym leader that I would probably lose against anyways. I had no strategy. I didn't even know how I was going to pull this off with a baby nidoran female. And of course I shouldn't use Fushi.

"Remember," Michael said, almost as if hearing my thoughts, "you aren't allowed to use Rotom. You said you could win without it."

"I remember."

A female ran out from behind a large opening in the back, her hair sloppily lining her head. She was wearing yellow Psyduck pajamas, which were surprisingly young for someone as old as she was. I knew it was Misty by the long, fiery red hair. She didn't seem to mind the fact that she was standing – in her night clothes – in front of complete strangers, not even finished with her morning activities.

"Welcome to the gym," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She pulled something like a rubber band from between her teeth and brushed her hair back into a ponytail. Then she reached to her waist for something and hurriedly rushed to the back room again. "Just...wait right there for a moment!"

I turned to Michael, unimpressed. "So...this is Misty?"

"She's really powerful despite what she looks like now. You'd better not underestimate her." Then he muttered, "Not like it will matter anyways."

The tired gym leader returned, snapping a belt to her waist. Her hair seemed less messy than before. "Okay...I'm prepared. And just why are you guys up so early anyways?"

Michael grinned. Every time he smiled, my heart sank, since he never did it towards me. "I could ask you the same question."

"I'm _allowed_ to because I'm a gym leader." She winked at him, unclipping a pokeball. "Okay, so which one of you wants to battle me?"

"I do," I said, stepping onto the platform. "But I only have one pokemon to use."

Misty shook her head. "Sorry, but you need two pokemon or more for gym battles."

"But Brock battled me with one..."

She laughed, to my surprise. "Of course. He always goes easy on the young trainers, even if it's against the rules. _Just don't tell anyone_."

My heart sank. He had gone easy on me, and yet I'd still lost. Did I actually have a chance against this fiery gym leader?

I thought about Fushi's wound. Being the idiot that I was and having chosen not to use Rotom, I would be forced to use Fushi anyways. It was either that or I'd have to forfeit the battle and travel on my own.

"Well...I have...I have a bulbasaur..."

"Great! Lets begin immediately."

As she sent out her pokemon, Michael came up behind me. "Jeez, you do remember that Fushi is injured, right?"

"I remember..."

I really was selfish, using Fushi anyways. I would only be using my pokemon for selfish gain. I focused my thoughts elsewhere to forget about it. Misty's pokemon was a cute, light green frog. A curl of dark hair on its head resembled a marking on its bright yellow stomach.

I released my nidoran on the first platform in the water. She was still shaken up from the capture in the woods and seemed to have no idea what to do. When she caught sight of the frog pokemon, she flicked her whiskers, rose to her back legs and puffed out her chest, almost as if taunting the pokemon. I began to wonder if all pokemon knew how to battle from their birth.

"Lets begin then. Politoed!"

It had been a simple name call, but the frog pokemon understood what it meant. It leapt into the water and disappeared beneath the surface. I knew most of Nidoran's moves, but none of them were good for anything more than close combat. Politoed suddenly raised its head out of the water and spit a stream of water at my distracted pokemon. Caught off guard, Nidoran fell backwards into the pool. What a perfect way to start a battle.

Nidoran emerged from the water and climbed back onto the platform, shaking the water from its coat. I tried to think of a command to use, but none of them would reach the far away frog pokemon.

"Special moves...special moves..." I thought hard. And then it came to me. "Poison Sting!"

Nidoran's poisonous darts came out swiftly, but Politoed dove underneath the water to avoid them. They bounced off the surface of the water as if it were made of glass. I was amazed at how Politoed could do things on its own without being commanded. It must have been trained very well, unlike _my_ pokemon.

"Double Slap!" Misty seemed disappointed with the battle. I think she used Double Slap so that her pokemon would get close to mine and she could see more of my moves. If that were true, then that would mean both gym leaders had gone easy on me... I truly was a failure.

Politoed leapt from the water to strike. I couldn't disappoint another gym leader. "Double Kick!"

Nidoran waited until the frog was close enough. Then, right in the stomach area, she kicked Politoed hard with a clawed foot. Politoed hunched forward on impact and failed to dodge the second foot that hit it smack between the eyes. I heard a barely audible "Oof"as it smashed into the water on its back. I was surprised at how heavy the pokemon was, despite how it looked.

"How about..." Misty said, looking a little more excited than before. "...Water Gun!"

My being more pumped up must have cleared a huge wall from my mind that I hadn't noticed was there. Suddenly I was able to attempt to think of a strategy. Nidoran could only hit it on close combat, which Politoed didn't stand a chance against. Politoed was only good at far away combat, which Nidoran was no good for. Nidoran was fast on the ground. Politoed was fast in the water. Both pokemon were nearly equal at advantages and disadvantages.

"Dodge its attacks and use Poison Sting!" I commanded.

Nidoran jumped out of the way as Politoed rose from the water angrily. This Water Gun came stronger than the last one, but Nidoran jumped to another platform and avoided it, using Poison Sting. Soon a little game of dodge-the-attack was played. Politoed dodged the Poison Sting by diving under the water. It rose up again and shot another blast of water, which Nidoran dodged by jumping to another platform. Nidoran shot another Poison Sting, but Politoed dodged again. This cycle continued for a few more minutes until both pokemon had to actually take a break from the fighting, resting where they were.

Misty had a smile on her face. "Both pokemon are completely opposite of each other- one a land creature and the other a water creature. But here's where the battle gets interesting... Hop up!"

All thoughts of ever winning crumbled when the frog pokemon leapt onto a platform in the water, facing my pokemon. Although _it_ could both walk on land and swim fast in water, my nidoran was useless for sea fighting.

"Water Gun!"

"Dodge!" I paused, soon realizing my mistake. "No wait!"

It was too late. Nidoran was on the middle platform, but the platforms were only vertical across the water. If it leapt backwards to dodge, it would still get hit. Unable to dodge for a platform, my pokemon leapt into the water. I wanted to mentally strangle myself for the mistake I'd made.

"Perfect. Go after it and lets end this battle."

Politoed also jumped into the water. The surface of the water was quiet for a while, except for a few vibrations every now and then that hinted attack blows. I thought I could see flashes of light beneath the water that looked like Poison Sting attacks. Suddenly the surface of the water was broken by my nidoran's head. She frantically swam for a platform, and she managed to get a tiny paw on it just as Politoed came charging through the water. Its sudden blow caused Nidoran to flip over the side of the platform, landing on her back. She struggled to get up, but her strength had failed. I knew we'd lost the first round.

"Good job, Nidoran," I said, calling her back. I was disappointed, but I knew I had accomplished at least making an _interesting battle_.

Misty laughed to herself. "Your nidoran is a strong kicker. I'm surprised you let her stay a nidoran."

"What do you mean?"

"Nidoran learn Poison Sting attack after they've evolved, unless you stop them."

"You mean...you can stop evolution?" I was astonished. "But how?"

Misty looked just as confused as I was. Then she snapped her fingers. "Oh I get it. You must have just caught it then. You can stop evolution by aiming your Pokedex at the pokemon evolving and pressing that small black button labeled 'Cancel.' Your nidoran should be evolving soon, then."

"First round loss," Michael muttered to me quietly. "Remember what happens when you lose." He seemed to be purposefully trying to unnerve me so I'd lose my focus.

"_If_ I lose."

"_When_ you lose."

I thought about my chances. My bulbasaur was very injured, so it might traumatize it to have to battle while in that condition. I hesitantly reached for my pokeball. Maybe I could just release it to see how bad the wound now was- then if it looked too bad, I wouldn't fight. I released my pokemon on those grounds.

Fushi happily shook his coat, despite the wound to his head. The bandages were no longer bleeding or showing red, so I guessed he was feeling okay now. Just to be cautious, I knelt to my pokemon and slipped a few of the bandages off, pressing lightly against the injury. Yet no matter how many bandages I removed, Fushi's wound never showed. I peeled off the remaining bandages and finally rose. There was no blood, no red...no nothing. It was normal.

"What...? But..." Michael shook his head. "That's impossible. A wound that bad should have disappeared in more than a day..."

I was surprised myself. "Fushi...?"

"Saur?" He tilted his head to the side, looking confused. But somehow I could see in his eyes that he knew exactly what was going on.

"You have some luck," Michael grumbled under his breath. "But remember, you have to battle _two_ pokemon now. If you couldn't even defeat Onix-"

"I know," I told him, tiring of his slander.

On the other side of the gym, Misty seemed bored with our antics. "Are you going to battle yet or...?"

I nodded, my fingers shaking at my sides. Last round. Last chance to prove my worth. "Lets go, Fushi."

As if in sync with my thoughts, Fushi hopped onto the nearest platform in the water. Politoed climbed up onto a platform as well and clapped its hands, enjoying the battle. I was shaking so much that I thought Michael would see. I think he did see, but must not have had the time to insult me about it- I knew that he would've if he could've.

"Begin!"

I made an immediate move, contrary to what my usual plan was. "Grab it with Vine Whip!"

Fushi whipped out its vines and reached for the frog pokemon, but it smacked them away. Again and again, Fushi tried to get a hold of it, but he was too slow to keep up with the lashes of what looked like Double Slap attack. Misty stood smiling at her platform, not even uttering a move. I felt ashamed to be battling her with such an unexperienced pokemon.

I tried to think of Bulbasaur's other moves, but most of its earlier moves were for short-range battle. I felt a sudden impulse, coming from what felt like nowhere, to think about other grass type pokemon. Within moments I had mentally examined their many moves. And suddenly, two words that I hadn't thought about before jumped into my mind.

"Leech Seed!"

Fushi continued to lash away at Politoed with his vines, keeping it unaware. Then from his bulb he spat the life-seeping seeds that I was sure would win me the round. By the time Politoed realized why its energy was being slowly seeped away from it, the seeds had already wrapped around its pudgy body. The surprised frog stopped its slapping and proceeded to rip away the seeds. This left a fatal opening which Fushi took advantage of. He snatched Politoed with his vines and tossed it violently into one of the gym walls, where it slid painfully down into the water.

"Politoed!" Misty called, but her pokemon hadn't moved since it went beneath the water. I wasn't surprised. The Leech Seed must have been hugging its arms to its sides to prevent it from swimming. Misty waited for a few more seconds, but then she recalled her pokemon.

'That was a good plan."

I was shocked that a gym leader had given me a compliment. I think my excitement and my being pumped up must have somehow spread to Fushi, because he growled proudly.

Misty smiled as she unclipped her final pokeball. "I haven't used this one in a while...but I think this would be the perfect occasion." She released a pokemon that matched the duck pokemon on her pajamas. The Psyduck blankly stared at the center of the arena, not even bothering to hop into the water.

"Second round begin!"

"Grab it!" I commanded, feeling confident.

"Just wait right there," Misty said. Her calmness was making me nervous.

Fushi snatched up Psyduck the same way he'd snatched up Politoed, but this time there was no fight. The duck hung there limply, almost as if it were sleeping with its eyes open. Fushi slammed it into one of the platforms, but the duck didn't look phased at all. Again and again the pokemon was slammed. It reminded me of when Fushi had been beating the tree. Psyduck didn't seem to mind the barrage of hits, and Misty didn't say a word to her pokemon. I hoped that this wasn't a way of going easy on me because, if so, it was a cruelty to her pokemon.

After a few more times, Fushi seemed to be tiring of attacking the pokemon. I was tiring just the same. All the while, Psyduck didn't move, didn't squirm, didn't attack. Misty was smiling to herself, patiently waiting for something to happen it seemed. Fushi finally decided to throw down Psyduck onto a platform. The duck pokemon landed on its head with a_ crack_. And then, something happened.

Its blank, tired eyes suddenly lit up until they were glowing brightly like sapphire, and the duck rose from its position. I could make out a dimmed aura that surrounded its pudgy body. Misty's smile widened.

"Confusion!"

The same bluish aura that had surrounded Psyduck now surrounded my pokemon. Fushi was lifted up into the air and flailed wildly to escape from the grip, but it was of no use. Psyduck's eyes suddenly flashed a bright white, followed by a sudden similar flash of the entire room, which almost completely blinded me. In my partial blindness, I heard the thump of a body being thrown into something hard. My vision returned and there lay Fushi, completely motionless on one of the platforms. My heart sank to my knees. I had lost the battle.

Or had I? Fushi was still trying to get up. However its writhing didn't do much to raise it to its feet. Psyduck's eyes had stopped glowing and it stood there blankly with that same dumb look on its face. I had a feeling that the battle wasn't yet over.

"Come on Fushi," I said, trying to be encouraging. "We can still win this."

"Bulba..."

And for the first time, I noticed something really strange about my pokemon. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I could feel that he was trying to tell me something. Each time he struggled to get up, I thought I could feel a pulse shake the room. It felt like the pulse was more in my mind than anything, so I ignored it.

However, what happened next was completely abnormal. Without a cue from me, or from Misty, or without any kind of sign as to what would happen, Psyduck suddenly levitated into the air, almost touching the ceiling. I stared wide-eyed at the floating pokemon. There was no aura surrounding it at all. Suddenly the levitation released and the pokemon fell back to the platform, landing violently on its back. The impact created a wave of dust, but when the dust cleared, Psyduck was still on its back, unable to move.

Misty staggered backwards in surprise. "What just...?" Then, giving into her defeat, she sighed. "Psyduck, return."

I stood completely motionless on my platform. The fact that I'd won the battle without the help of anyone else's pokemon didn't hit me until Michael came up behind me, shocking me back into reality with his voice.

"So."

It was only a meaningless word. And then it hit me all at once. I had finally won. And that would mean I could still travel with Michael! I wouldn't have to go by myself in such a vast and strange world. And not only that- I would finally learn everything about him, from his past to what was happening now. I knew he wasn't too fond of childish antics, so I contained my excitement.

"I won," I said, my voice shaking.

"Looks like it." His voice dripped with frustration. "I don't know how, though."

"Guess I'll be learning more about you then." I smiled to myself.

He remained silent, shrugging at my words. I didn't like this new attitude of his. I would actually prefer taking insults than having this new, silent negativity towards me.

"Good job!" Misty called, waving something shiny.

I nodded excitedly and and turned to my pokemon. He was still struggling to get up, not showing any surprise to what had happened. "You too, Fushi. You were wonderful out there."

"Bulba!"

After I recalled my pokemon, Misty came over to our side by a small, railed walkway at the side of the gym. She nodded a greeting at us and looked over towards my pokemon, shaking her head.

"I don't know what happened out there."

"What?"

"You know, what happened to Psyduck?"

I suddenly remembered the incident. I had completely forgotten about it. "That was odd."

"You think maybe Psyduck backfired on itself?" Michael asked her. Just like before, his attitude had brightened up. "The headache technique might have given it a migraine or something, and it might have unconsciously attacked itself."

"I never thought about that," Misty said quietly. "How do you know about my headache technique?"

"I've read about you before. You're one of my favorite gym leaders."

"Really?" Her eyes brightened with her smile. "You're so sweet."

I suddenly felt sick. Had she known about his horrible temper, the way he treated me, and the things he said, she never would call him "sweet." I found it irritating how he would be nice to outsiders who would assume he was this kind, gentle person when they had no idea about his inner personality- which he loved to take out on me. Deep down inside, I could feel something different than that familiar hurt.

Misty turned to me, still smiling. "You've earned this badge."

I took it gratefully, but my excitement had since faded into a dull throb of what it had been. Would it have hurt Michael to say a "Congratulations," or a "Good job" once in a while? But even after that win, even after busting my butt to beat such an honored gym leader – and doing it with _untrained pokemon_, of all things – I had managed to get nothing. If anything, his dislike towards me seemed to be growing.

"Guess we should be going then," Michael mumbled, heading out the gym doors. I nodded and followed him, waving a goodbye to Misty.

OoOoOoOoO

The sky outside the gym was still gloomy from before, indicating that it hadn't really been the effects of the fog after all. Michael took a seat on the ledge of the fountain that I hadn't noticed before. He seemed more annoyed with me than usual, and I couldn't really blame him. Now, thanks to our deal, he would have to explain everything about him. All he had worked to keep a secret from me would now be revealed. Yet I couldn't say I was unhappy with the way things turned out.

I took a seat next to him, not knowing what to say, or what to ask first. There were so many questions in my head that I couldn't think. It was either that or the constant trickling of water behind my back. "So...about our deal."

"You get three questions," he said, turning away from me. "Nothing more."

"But we agreed-"

"It's either that or nothing." He tightened the string on his hoody, annoyed at my presence.

I didn't want to argue with him. Although annoyed with his unfair compromise, it was still going to get me somewhere. My three questions would have to reveal enough to me so that I'd understand everything. It would be my only chance.

"Well...for the first question..." My heart was beating wildly in excitement. "...why are you being chased by those people?"

He remained silent for a while. "Remember when you found my pokeball? Well I needed that pokeball. I needed Growlithe." He seemed to be having difficulty getting it out. "Those people are chasing me because I didn't have Growlithe with me. Because the truth is..." He sighed. "I dog fight."

I could hardly believe my ears. "No way."

"Yeah. So? Growlithe hasn't been injured badly because of it. She enjoys the fighting." He rolled his eyes. "Pokemon don't feel. You might think they're getting hurt, but they're only like robots, programmed to look pained."

I shook my head. What was with this guy? "Pokemon can feel. They can be happy and sad, and if they feel angry they attack."

"They don't have emotions like humans. The anger is only a territorial feeling- or something else natural." He sighed, tiring of the subject. "Anyways, those guys – those bastards – they're after me because I was going to dog fight against their group leader..." He turned to me. "I'm from a different group."

"That's why they're after you?"

"You didn't let me finish," he snapped. "They're after me because we had picked a spot outside Pewter City to dog fight... And when I showed up there without a pokemon – after having their leader and team drag themselves halfway across the region to avoid being caught – I didn't have my pokemon. They thought I was making a mockery of them."

I could see the anger in his eyes. "...Didn't you explain to them?"

"I tried," he said, frustrated. "They wouldn't listen. They told me I'd better find my pokemon within an hour and be back there to fight... Of course I never did. So because I didn't show up..."

"But that's a stupid reason..." I said. "I mean, you forgot your pokemon..."

"Okay, dumb ass." I was hurt by his choice of words. "If you were running away from the government, participating in dog fights, dragged yourself halfway across an entire region to fight with someone in a secret area to avoid being caught, and after all the work you spent to get there, the person ends up not being prepared- how would you feel?" I didn't have time to answer, because he said, "I'd be pretty pissed."

I nodded, ignoring the insult from before. "That's...that's a lot to deal with..." And then suddenly, it all snapped back to me. "Wait. You're running from the government?"

"Is that going to be your second question?"

I hesitated. If so, it would only be a one-word answer. "No."

We sat there quietly for a while, the trickling of the fountain disturbing the silence. It took me a while to soak it all in. If he _was_ running from the government...that meant I was associating with and helping a criminal. If I was helping a criminal..._I_ was a criminal. Then not only would I be in danger of the people chasing after him...but I would be in danger of the government as well. I was suddenly afraid. Maybe it wouldn't be so wise to ask more questions. The less I knew, the less danger I was in – innocence. Yet...I was still curious.

The question I'd had for the longest time came to mind. "What were those numbers and letters on Growlithe's pokeball?"

He seemed to jump inwardly at the question. "That's... They... It stands for I.P.P.A., IPPA. International Pokemon Protection Agency. Part of the government."

I thought about how the numbers and letters seemed to spell that out. "Why is it on your pokeball?"

"Third question?"

I hesitated, but finally nodded. I was too curious and no other question came to mind.

He sighed. "It's because... I sort of..." He trailed off so I couldn't hear him.

"I couldn't hear that."

"I said... It was originally theirs... I stole it from them."

I couldn't contain my frightened gasp. He had stolen a pokemon...from the _government_? That had to be the greatest of all crimes to ever commit. Was that why he always wore that hood over his head? To keep people from seeing most of his face? So...since he really was running away from the government... That meant that I... I was...

"So run away now."

I paused. "What?"

"I'm running away from the government. I can tell you're scared already," he said, eying my face. "So you can leave if you want. They'll never know and you can continue your journey safe from harm." He lowered his voice. "...I've done things that could put me in jail for the rest of my life. If they ever find out you associated with me and helped me to hide from them, say goodbye to your so-called pokemon training years. Your young age will do nothing."

I could feel the adrenaline now. My veins felt like they would leap from my skin. "But... But you'll have to run away for the rest of your life."

"I've gotten used to it by now. It's no big deal after doing it for years."

I froze. Just how old was this guy? He looked like he was about sixteen or so, but I wasn't too sure.

"Anyways." He tightened his hood. "I've answered your final question. That's it. And now it'll be your choice."

"For what...?"

"To run away by yourself or choose to keep traveling with me. Although if you travel with me, you're not going to be able to do everything you want." He turned to me seriously. "I'm going to Vermillion City and getting on a ferry that will take me to another place. Then after the government finds out I went there, I'll travel around for a few more years and sail to another region. This will continue until I die, and that's my final decision."

I shook my head to myself, still trying to soak it all in. Finally, I stood up. "I'm going to have to think about this."

"Whatever. Just hurry it up. I can't stay out in the open all day."

I shakily went away from him, every part of my mind telling me to run away. He was a criminal- a horrible criminal. He had stolen a pokemon from the government- the _government! _He was a dog fighter. He treated his pokemon horribly. He treated _me _horribly. I could never befriend this guy. It would be the worst mistake of my life! I'd be trading freedom for becoming a slave if I went with him. It couldn't possibly be worth leaving my training to travel with him.

Then again, what plans did I have after defeating all the gyms? I was planning on becoming Pokemon Master. And if I didn't end up like the millions of confident trainers and actually _became_ Master, what next? I would have to travel around the world battling for fun...going on television... I would have no life of my own. I wanted to be known, and to be famous, but would it really be worth fame to have a secret camera recording every second of my life? Poor Ash, he rarely ever had time to himself. If he went to the park for a walk, he had to wear something to keep him from being known. If he went shopping, people saw him and crowded him. He couldn't be himself, because everything he said had to be "a hit." It was a horrible life, despite the money.

And who said I would actually defeat Ash? He was not only the greatest trainer in the world, but, according to a recent news story, he had been considered "The Chosen One," not too long ago. Although nobody talked about it anymore – almost as if they were trying to keep it a giant secret – I had a feeling that he had done something incredible for the world. I was only a rookie trainer, couldn't even handle or capture pokemon the right way. He had been Master for years and not once had he fumbled. Even his arch rival – now an esteemed professor – had been defeated without so much as a second glance.

What did I really want to do with my life? Would it be worth traveling around to all the gyms, fighting and wasting my years to get up to a final battle that I would probably never win anyways, or would it be worth traveling around with Michael – someone at least – going to places I had never been before and still being able to train my pokemon? I would be a criminal, running away from the law. And only at twelve years old! What would my mother say?

'I don't know what do do,' I thought frantically, pacing back and forth. 'I could never become Pokemon Master, but I don't ever want to be a criminal...'

But something snapped. I finally found a solution. It would give me more time to think.

I turned to Michael nervously. "How about...I travel with you until we get to Vermillion City... Then I could think about it on the way and still fight at my next gym... But you have to let me fight."

He raised his head. "Fine. But you don't have anymore time to think about it. Once I hand them my ticket, I'm getting on, with or without you."

"Understood," I said quietly.

He stood up, pulling the top of his hood further over his head and glancing around to see if anyone was coming. "Lets hurry up then."

I followed after him, my stomach growling as if I had to use the bathroom. I held it painfully, suddenly realizing how hungry I was.

He stopped walking and reached into his pocket for something. Then he turned around and handed me something in a dripping plastic wrapper. "It's not much, and it's not healthy, but it'll keep you from being hungry." He must have heard my stomach.

I took the melted chocolate bar and nodded my thanks. We continued our walk in a different silence. The usual silence we walked in had been uncomfortable, but this one was odd, almost curious. I could still feel my adrenaline pumping at the thought of his crimes. I thought about what would happen in the future if I decided to go. The question struck me like a bullet: If that did happen...wouldn't I end up becoming just like him?

OoOoOoOoO

My writer's block is gone! It disappeared after I took a few days' break. I was planning on getting a chapter a week, but as long as I get in a chapter before two weeks, it should be fine. Now, ahem-

What will happen to our group? What will be Emmi's final decision? Will they be able to escape the people chasing after him? Will the government go after Emmi as well? Will my writer's block ever return? Will I ever stop asking questions? Next chapter (along with the end of this one) will be the actual start of the plot.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Warning: this chapter WILL probably be boring at some point. I'm not going to lie to you. If all efforts of staying awake fail, skip down to the last few paragraphs, or the life-sucking monsters of writer's block will gobble you up.

Chapter Five

After I healed my pokemon at a Pokemon Center, Michael led me out of the city swiftly, keeping his head low. He seemed much more nervous now that we were heading back into the crowded area, away from the seclusion of the gym. A few times when I would see a police officer pass by, he would tense up so much that it made him more suspicious than if he had been walking with his hood down. I couldn't blame him for being nervous. If he gave any sign that he was the sought-after criminal, he would be imprisoned for life.

The city sloped downhill and closed off, ending at the edge of a forest. The steep and unbalanced terrain in this area was dangerous, never flattening out to give you a clear view. The downhill slope we walked on wasn't made any easier by the closeness of the trees (they were so close that you couldn't see the sky), and the path was anything but broad. My shoes kept getting caught in the soil and every time I pulled them free, a miniature mud slide would throw Michael off his feet.

I was happy when the slope leveled out. Our walk from then on was calm, but I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching us. Every time I took a step, I felt like there were something – or _somethings_ – behind me that took a step as well, and it didn't feel like pokemon at all.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Michael.

"Hear what?"

"Footsteps."

He shook his head, but his pace sped up a little. I was more nervous than him because of the sound having been right behind me. Because he was in front, I would be the first one to be attacked. I wondered if he had planned it out that way from the beginning.

"I think we should run," I suggested.

"No. If you run, they'll know exactly where we are."

"But...what if they already know? What if they attack?"

"They don't know," he muttered. I couldn't help but feel he was wrong this time.

The sound behind me compelled me to move faster. "I can hear them, Michael."

He stopped walking, staying quiet to listen to the forest. The footsteps behind me had stopped as well, but what was more alarming was that there were almost no pokemon in these woods.

"Would you stop stalling? I don't hear anything."

"But _I _do..."

"And_ I_ don't care. It's only a pokemon."

"But-"

"Shut it and hurry up." He marched ahead, annoyed with me. "I've been running away from them for a while now, so I'd _think_ I know more about how it sounds when people follow you."

I followed him hesitantly. I would have preferred to turn around and fight back the offenders to permanently keep them from following. This whole running-away-until-death thing didn't sound too appealing. I calmed down a bit when the footsteps died away. Maybe it had been a pokemon after all.

We walked in relative peace, although I could still sense that same separation from before creating a wall between us. I still couldn't understand what Michael's past was about- why he would steal a pokemon from IPPA in the first place. Even people who'd done horrible crimes like murder wouldn't even _think_ of stealing from the government.

I was starting to feel uncomfortable about the whole thing. However I didn't have time to pay attention to my thoughts. Something was behind me. I didn't want to bother Michael again, so I kept silent for a while. However I could hear footsteps like before, yet they were stronger than usual and concentrated down to only one set of feet.

"Michael-"

"Shut it."

We walked for a bit longer, but I couldn't help but notice that the presence was coming closer. Too afraid to look around, I crept closer to Michael. However, the presence still followed me.

"I hear-"

He turned around sharply, his voice seething. "Do you _not_ understand how to _shut your fucking mouth_? Say one more word-" He glanced behind me at something and his anger vanished. Before I knew what was going on, he had already grabbed me by my arm and shoved me behind him, keeping his head angled towards the ground. I looked back and saw a man in a formal blue uniform and hat, crouching behind a tree. He stood up and stepped out to the main path. He had a clean-shaven and careless young face, clearly showing inexperience in his job field.

"Where are you guys heading?"

"Nowhere," Michael muttered.

"Lift up your head," the officer commanded him.

"Is there a problem?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," the officer replied. "There's a criminal on the loose. I just want to see if you're him, from the description."

I saw Michael tense up at the word "criminal." However he remained motionless. When he didn't oblige with the command, the officer frowned.

"I'll give you three seconds to lift your head up. Then you're coming with me."

"I don't think so," Michael said indignantly.

"Now listen here, kid! I'll have no problem taking your disobedient, skinny ass downtown." He turned to me suddenly. "And just who are you, little girl?"

I frowned at being called little, but I was too afraid to reply.

"Did this guy kidnap you or something?"

Not paying attention, Michael accidentally lifted his head up at the officer's reply, showing his face. He had forgotten to pull his hood down over his hair like usual – the only time that would have actually made a difference. The police officer examined him.

"You look just like the description. Red hair, dark eyes, emotionless face... Looks like you're coming with me anyways." The officer was momentarily distracted while he reached for his gun.

"When I say go..." Michael whispered to me, not taking his eyes off the police officer, "...get ready to run."

I nodded, fearing what would happen to me if I was also taken in. Michael raised a pokeball as if to throw it, catching the policeman's attention. While the officer focused on his arm, Michael kicked something hard. The object flew swiftly over the ground and landed behind the officer, who – startled – turned around.

"Go!"

I was grabbed by my arm and suddenly pulled into a run. Behind me, I heard the officer gasp at our escape. We were lucky we had made it to mostly level ground before this happened. Otherwise one slip would have sent us tumbling down the slope and into sudden death. Michael was a surprisingly fast runner, even beating the efforts of this older man who – right behind me – proved he wouldn't be giving up. A warning gunshot rang out just behind me.

"Persistent bastard," Michael muttered, quickly dragging me down to an enclosed area filled with thorn bushes. We got on our knees and ducked underneath the thorns, the leaves shielding us from being seen. He threw the pokeball that was already in his hand, sending out his Clefable. The pale pokemon could be easily seen from the contrast in colors of the dark forest.

"Icy Wind."

Clefable spewed the attack out onto the main path. The icy haze thickened when it picked up the dust from the ground and created a sort of wall, preventing us from seeing the pathway, as well as being a shield from all other eyes. Michael recalled his pokemon just as the policeman's footsteps came near. The officer mumbled something under his breath at the haze and I saw a hand momentarily swing through the fog in an effort to wipe it away.

"You can't hide forever," he called to us in the wrong direction. His footsteps continued down the main path, but his words were now difficult to hear.

Michael shook his head. "Lets get out of here before this amateur remembers to use his pokemon to find us- not like they would be able to find our scent anyways."

I followed him through the rest of the thorn bushes, both of us crawling down the slope. The policeman searched for us at the same pace on the path parallel to us, unaware that we were right beside him all along. The disappearing fog bothered me, however Michael kept his eyes ahead. After a few minutes, I heard the policeman change his direction to head back. Relief. I had an urge to tell Michael "I told you so," about someone having followed us, but he seemed like the kind of person who'd just get pissed off about it.

"I think...I think he's gone now," I said. "Maybe we can-"

"Shush. And don't make any sudden or heavy movements."

I didn't understand what he meant by "heavy," but asking questions only seemed to anger him. I noticed that the path we crawled on was becoming less and less stable. The soil felt like it was thinning out, like there were nothing underneath it to support it from caving in. A sudden rumble underneath me caused me to lose my footing. Up ahead, I saw that the forest was about to end in a small field that extended downhill to Saffron City. I was overjoyed.

"We're almost there!" I whispered excitedly, rising to my feet to view it more easily. Michael turned around angrily and grabbed my leg to bring me back to my knees. However I lost my footing from the tug and toppled over into the ground. The ground beneath me shook just like before, and he slapped an annoyed hand to his face. He was just about to say something when I felt the ground crumble away beneath me. Next thing I knew, I was falling into darkness.

OoOoOoOoO

I didn't land in water, or in anything soft, but the intensity of the impact was weakened by the short distance we'd fallen. Sunlight filtered down from the opening we'd made in the ceiling. It was the only light to be seen in this cave, which wasn't littered with glowing stones like Mt. Moon. I winced as I rose from my knees, the "cushion" I had fallen on. I was grateful that I hadn't landed on my back, else I would be paralyzed.

The cave had this horrible silence to it, beneath the occasional rumblings. It was the same atmosphere as the forest had been- no pokemon in sight. However it might have just been a cave thing. I looked around for Michael frantically. I had heard his thump when he fell along with me, so he couldn't be too far away.

"Michael?" I called loudly. My voice echoed a thousand times around the cave, shaking the ground. I had a feeling that talking would be dangerous here.

I glanced down at my dusty clothing, caked completely with dirt. I was suddenly dissatisfied with my short sleeves. The cave was very cold, and that was to be expected- nothing ever seemed to move in this cave, except the cave itself. I heard something shift around at my right and I turned. Michael rose to his knees, his clothing just as dirty as my own. I thought I saw red on one of his pant legs- the same leg that had been wounded before.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking over to him.

He glared at me, hiding the wound. "I thought I told you not to make any sudden or heavy movements..."

I swallowed at the remembrance.

"Is falling into caves one of your hobbies or something?"

"No..." I lowered my eyes. Once again, I had created a problem. I wondered how many problems it would take before he strangled me.

Michael rose to his feet, staggering on his leg. He looked too mentally tired to yell at me. "Lets just...get out of here. We're in the Diglet Tunnel, so it should just be an easy one-way walk..." His face brightened. "...to Vermilion City..."

My expression, too, brightened at the realization. Because we wouldn't have to walk through Saffron City, we wouldn't risk getting caught by the guards, and it would be much faster. Not only that, but there seemed to be no one in this cave, making it a perfect hideout and escape route.

"This is great!" I said excitedly. "Looks like I did okay after all."

"Looks like we won't be eating for a while either," he replied dryly.

He must have been planning on getting food in Saffron. So far I had gone two days on a meager chocolate bar and absorbed water, and I was unsure how I would get by. I wondered when Michael had eaten last. I felt like asking him, but I didn't want to pester him with anymore questions.

I sent out my Rotom to brighten the cave. The cave was surprisingly narrow and only extended in two directions. There didn't seem to be caverns or chambers, and with the lack of hiding places, I wondered where the pokemon were. I did notice that there were many holes in the ground, and there were small lumps as if holes had once been there and were now covered up. There were a few holes in the wall as well, but more towards the bottom. I didn't like how quiet it was.

"Maybe we should get going..." I said uneasily. Rotom's buzzing reminded me of something long forgotten. "But... I have to give Rotom a nickname first."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Do that later. Someone probably heard our fall and might follow us."

"It won't take but a second..." I turned to Rotom. "Now...how about Motor?"

Rotom cringed at the name. It did sound more like a mechanical nickname. Michael only sighed impatiently.

"I don't have time for this."

I frowned at Rotom and grabbed the first name on my mind. "For now I'll call you...Pikka. Lets go."

Pikka floated ahead to light our path, and we followed closely behind. This cave was nothing like the one before. It was a dark, dry and cold place, and it actually _felt_ like it was underground, unlike the peacefulness of Mt. Moon. It was the kind of place where you could hear water constantly dripping in an unseen place. I had to keep stepping over and around the holes in the floor, which were about the circumference of my leg. I saw something brown poke up from one in the corner of my eye, but it disappeared quickly when I looked.

"What was that?"

"Diglet."

I nodded to myself, finally understanding. Most of the holes were about the same width as Diglet. I wondered if they were the only pokemon that lived in this cave. There were no Zubat on the ceiling, so the environment must not have been bat-friendly. My mom would not have enjoyed it here- she was absolutely terrified of Zubat and other small pokemon. Come to think of it, what about Michael's mother? And what about his father? Did they know that their own son was off dog fighting? I wanted to question him about it really badly, but I held my tongue.

"We're passing under Saffron City now," he said.

The longer we walked, the more bored I became. This cave was a heaping pile of no variety. Every inch of the wall and floor looked the exact same, and I began to wonder if we were walking in circles. Soon it felt like I was passing the same bunch of holes a hundred times. There were no caverns, no lakes or pokemon sounds, no natural light, nothing but dull and dim and brown. I hummed one of my favorite songs quietly to pass the time. Michael was quick to snap at me.

"Stop that. It's annoying."

I sighed, but stopped anyways. I wondered which parent he'd developed his attitude from. In those few moments of thought, I temporarily forgot about how annoying it was to him to ask personal questions.

"I'm just wondering, but...do your parents know what you're doing?"

He tensed up at the mere mention of it. "What parents?"

"You know...your mother and father?"

"Don't want to talk about it."

His voice had cracked, so I didn't ask anything else about it. We walked on for about five more minutes before I sighed loudly.

"How much longer?"

"It'll only be a few more minutes. Just imagine how much longer it would have taken if we were actually going through Saffron City, dodging the buildings," Michael said, seemingly relaxed now. He seemed to be kinder when in the depths of a cave. I wondered, then, if his peaceful attitude in Mt. Moon had come from the stones or from the cave itself.

My tired feet dragged for what felt like an hour more. I was tired of the boring cave with its same boring walls and floor... I actually felt like going to sleep. Just when the notion started to seem practical, a small light at the end of the tunnel coaxed me out of my sleepiness.

"That's it," Michael said. "We made it."

I was excited. My third gym battle on the way to becoming- oh wait. That's right. I had to choose whether I wanted to battle for Mastery or to travel with Michael as a criminal. What's worst was that I hadn't had much time to reflect on it. Somehow, traveling with him wasn't so bad. I was getting used to the insults, and I was learning things from traveling with him. And for some reason, it felt rather nice to just be alongside him. However, was I prepared to discard my entire free life?

In my nervousness, I took off running to the exit, and I was surprised when the ground crumbled away beneath my feet- where I fell down into darkness.

Just kidding.

OoOoOoO

I bet most of you were thinking, "WTF NOT AGAIN" at the last part. I just wanted to psyche you guys out a little. Did it work? xD

End of boring chapter. You may now wake up. I told you, didn't I? This chapter was boring for me as well, but it was also a good writing exercise. Don't expect the next one to be the same way.

So they're finally at Vermillion City! I have to tell you, these last two chapters drained the heck out of me. I got a huge writer's block because I wanted Emmi and Michael to hurry up and arrive at Vermillion City, but I knew I had to fill in their journey somehow. The next chapters should be a breeze, and much more interesting than these last few boring ones, not to mention more detailed.

Don't hit me because of the cave chapter. It was a quick and easy way to get them to Vermillion. Since most of you are probably annoyed at the cave chapters, this should be the last one for a long while, unless a cave magically appears on the S.S Anne.

I don't really have anything else to say. I just enjoy typing these author notes. xD Oh also, you wouldn't believe how many snippets I had to cut from this chapter and redo. Next chapter should come in about the same amount of time or less.


End file.
